A Price to Pay
by julesames
Summary: There is a price to pay for every indulgence; Bella Swan is paying that price. Bella Swan is a stripper at a local club who is keeping it a secret from everyone in her life, until Edward Cullen, her next-door-neighbor, walks in and discovers her in the spotlight.
1. Chapter 1

**A new story! **

**I've written quite a bit of this already but would be keen to hear peoples response to it.**

**I am planning on updating often - a few times a day - but the the updates will be short, averaging between 1000-1500 words give or take.**

**A very talented friend of mien collaborated on this with me, we wrote this as original fiction but haven't' finished it yet... I'm hoping to get some inspiration to finish it off.**

**She wrote from Edward's point of view. Let me know what you think!**

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"Have fun at the bar! Let me know if you need me to pick you up," Rosalie called out to her as Bella crossed the room of their shared apartment toward the front door. Thirty seconds and she'd be free.

"I should be fine, but thanks," Bella replied as her hand twisted the knob of their front door. "See you later!"

And then she was free. Not because she wanted to be away from Rosalie, her best friend, but because she was caught in a lie, and she hated it.

The story that Rosalie Hale knew was that Bella was helping out a friend of hers who was struggling really badly at his bar. Bella had, out of the "goodness of her heart," volunteered to help him out until he got back on his feet. The lie tasted bitter in her mouth every time she told Rosalie she was doing another shift. Mostly it was just Saturday nights, but more recently Bella had been having to lie more often to Rosalie; she'd come in late sometimes Wednesday and Thursday nights, too, and if her friend hadn't already made it to bed, she'd look up from whatever it was she was doing and ask her: "How was Riley? How was the bar? Was it busy? Are things picking up for Riley again?"

And every time, Bella would have to swallow back the compulsion she felt to tell her friend the truth and once again lie.

Riley wasn't a friend. That was the first truth.

She shut the door behind her, a huff of breath leaving her as she felt the warm, humid air of what had to be the hottest summer she'd experienced in her short twenty-six years.

A voice cleared, and Bella glanced up. She hadn't even realized she'd not been alone. She spotted Edward, who was looking her over. Bella clutched the bag that held her clothes tightly in her arm and straightened her back. She wasn't going to let whatever Edward had to say to her tonight affect her, and so before he opened his mouth, she walked past him without so much as bothering to say hello. _Hello_ would lead to _how are you? And what are you up to this evening?_ And who knew what else, and Bella didn't really feel like lying to Edward as well.

She'd most likely end up saying something completely bitchy and uncalled for because that's what always ended up happening whenever she was around Edward. The man made her defenses snap up and every bit of common courtesy she had within her leave the moment he entered a room. And she still hadn't figured out why.

Bella caught a taxi to the club. It was still early, and she knew she would be one of the first girls there, but that was okay with her. Riley wouldn't arrive until an hour before the show started, and by that time, all the girls would have arrived, and she'd be able to hide in the back of the costume room. At least, she hoped she could hide.

She handed over a twenty to the cab driver and collected her change. Then walked around to the back of the seedy looking club, situated in Tenderloin, San Francisco – notoriously well known for its high crime and red-light-district.

Dumping her bag down, Bella got to work on getting herself ready.

Her hair was the easiest. Most of the girls wore hair extensions, but Bella already had rather long brown hair. The guys seemed to tip her more than the blondes, although she couldn't figure out why. Weren't blondes supposed to be more fun? But if it was making her money, then she wasn't about to complain.

Steam billowed out from the hair straightener as Bella began to work it over her hair. She was almost finished when the back door opened and a girl by the name of Clara wandered in. Bella smiled in the mirror, her eyes meeting the tall, dark-skinned beauty.

"Hey, Isa!" She greeted Bella using Bella's stage name. No one except for Riley knew her real name, and Bella planned on keeping it that way. It was important to her to keep her two lives separate.

"Clara. You're here early." Bella continued to straighten her hair as the two girls got caught up with one another. Clara was a mother of two, although by looking at her you couldn't tell. There were no stretch marks on her body. She was toned and in shape. The only tells that Bella could spot were the tired shadows under Clara's eyes that would easily be covered in makeup within a few hours.

Finished with her hair, Bella switched the hair straightener off. "Do you need help with your extensions?" she asked Clara.

"No, honey. I'm fine. I'm a pro at this, remember? You go get yourself ready."

Bella laughed and nodded her head. "Alright, but give me a shout if you need help."

Clara snorted. "You probably wouldn't even know what to do, Miss-I-don't-need-hair-extensions."

"You're probably right." Bella grinned and shook her hair about in a way that only made Clara pout.

"Save it for the fellas, girl."

Bella sighed and turned away. A glance at the clock told her that most of the girls would be getting here any minute and that if she wanted use of the mirrors to do her makeup, she'd better get cracking. She had finished applying her red lip-stain when a group of young girls entered. Bella recognized most of them; they were probably the youngest workers at the club: barely eighteen year old college students who needed the extra cash for rent and food.

She moved aside as they bustled in, figuring that she was done with her makeup and hair and only needing to get dressed. She grabbed her set list and headed out to the main area where the DJ, Tyler, was setting up for the night.

"Hey, sugar_!" _Despite the fact that Bella was still wearing her street clothes, Tyler looked her up and down, a leer on his face. He called all the girls various pet names. Bella's happened to be "sugar."

"Hi, Tyler. Here's my set list." She handed over her list. Bella was due to work the stage six times that night, including a special feature where she'd dress up in a costume. But for the other five dances she would only be required to wear her usual get up: a skimpy, black string-bikini top and matching thong.

"You'll be the fourth girl on tonight, sugar."

"Great. Thanks."

Bella turned on her heel and walked back toward the dressing rooms, ignoring Tyler's wolf whistle. Tyler was relatively harmless, but he was still a pervert.

Back in the safety of the changing room, Bella managed to find a space with a mirror, despite the fact the room was becoming crowded with girls.

Sh removed her clothes quickly and folded the jeans, t-shirt and underwear she'd worn to the club, placing them in her bag. She then took out the skimpy undergarments and slid them on. She straightened to check herself in the mirror and to ensure that her body looked all right, and it did. Bella had no self-image issues, she worked out a lot and she ate healthy. She was toned, and her skin had a healthy glowing tan. Her body wasn't scarred with stretch marks or any other sort of mark, which was incredibly lucky considering the life she'd led so far.

She caught the glances of a couple of the other girls on the other side of the room through the mirror looking her over, Through the mirror, Bella caught the glances of the other girls. They were judging her body and no doubt comparing themselves to her. Bella sighed and turned to the sheer, black baby doll negligee she'd be wearing over the top of her skimpy undergarments.

"Doors open in ten minutes, girls!" Bella glanced up to see that Riley had arrived and was ordering the girls into their positions.

_Put your game face on, Bella. _Or rather, _Isa. _She slipped the sheer fabric on over her body and tied it together. A simple pull of the string would unveil her. But that would be later, when the spotlight was on her.

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**So what do you think of the first chapter? Tell me your thoughts by leaving a review below. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I told you that I'd update quickly!**

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Edward had popped out to the shops to restock the ever-necessary staple in his house, chocolate. He had returned happy and content with a small bag of his preferred chocolates (M&M's and Snickers bars) and was just letting himself into his apartment when he heard the sound of a door opening beside him. Edward paused, keys in hand, to see his neighbor Bella slipping out her front door. His eyes trailed over her, taking in the long, glossy strands of her hair that had been hastily pushed out of her face. She was wearing surprisingly non-descript clothes that hung on her tall, slender frame that were clearly meant to downplay her appearance, for whatever reason.

_Not that it worked_, he decided. Bella invited attention wherever she went, regardless of how she chose to dress. His lips flattened into thin line as he mentally rebuked himself for staring a little too long at those damned legs of hers that seemed to go on forever and, instead, made to clear his throat. Bella obviously hadn't noticed him, and despite their antagonistic relationship (really more on her part than his, although to be fair, the things he said often didn't quite help matters), Edward thought it would be only polite to say hello.

But before he had the chance, Bella's brown eyes had snapped to his. Something crossed over her face before she seemed to set her jaw, straightening her back and flouncing off without another look in his direction.

Edward blinked and then scowled. Someone obviously had their panties in a twist. Would it have been so terrible to acknowledge his presence? Especially now that their worlds seemed to have merged. Since both of their friends had hooked up with one another, Edward and Bella were forced to spend a lot more time together outside of the brief bumps the came about the comings and goings of their home.

He watched her disappear, her footsteps fast and light against the floor as she clutched the lumpy bag close to her.

Edward frowned as a thought suddenly occurred to him. He moved outside just in time to see Bella disappear into a cab. His mind flashed back to her plain clothes and the rather cautious look on her face as she locked up her door behind her. He glanced down at his watch.

Edward had a feeling he knew exactly where Bella had gone.

As he tossed his bag of chocolate onto the counter and disappeared into the bathroom to shower and change, he thought back to the night he had first discovered Bella's secret.

He'd been out with his friends from the fire department he worked at on a colleague's bachelor night. They'd drunkenly stumbled from bar to bar and eventually found their way into the red-light-district of San Francisco. There had been a few stripper shows to choose from, but somehow, they had managed to find their way into the one that Bella Swan chose to dance at.

To say that Edward was shocked to see his next-door-neighbor dancing topless on the stage was an understatement. But he'd quickly collected himself and managed to convince his friends that the vibe in the club wasn't very good and that they should cross the road to another strip club that he claimed was way better. Emmett and Jasper, who had been with them, were both blind from drinking too much and fortunately never saw the brunette on stage.

It had been a good three or four months back, but ever since then, he'd gone every couple of weeks to see her.

Nearly half an hour later, Edward's car pulled up to the curb, and with a glance around his surroundings, he started to walk until he reached his final destination: Indulgences, one of the many strip clubs that populated the Tenderloin area, but the only one where a particular pretty, dark-haired woman could be found performing on most Saturday nights.

Edward settled at the bar to order a scotch on the rocks, and as he waited for his drink, he looked around. The club was dark and hazy with smoke from patrons who sat around, enjoying the sight of a topless blonde who was currently performing on the stage. He could feel his phone vibrating with a message in his pocket, but he ignored it.

As he watched the girl on stage, his mind turned back to the puzzle that was Bella Swan.

Why would someone like Bella, who held a good, steady job as a writer for one of San Francisco's most popular women's magazines, moonlight as a stripper on the weekend? He just didn't understand it. Nothing in the conversations that Edward had had with her or the interactions that he'd observed with her and their friends had ever pointed to this side of her. Did Rosalie know about this? Alice?

He had thought, at first, that perhaps he'd been mistaken – maybe her performance had only been a brief stint, some kind of crazy experience she'd wanted to have in order to write another article of hers. But then Edward had seen her performing the next week, and the week after that. He had always sat in the dark, closer to the back where he had a good view of the stage but less of a chance of being recognized by Bella. She was quite temperamental, and he wasn't sure what she'd do if she knew that he'd known about her little performing job on the side. Edward himself didn't quite know what to make of it.

He had debated on and off for a good month on whether to confront Bella about it. Every time he'd come, he had grappled with his decision as he watched her perform, only to slip away at the end of the night, silent and waiting for the next time to roll around.

But as Edward watched the blonde exit the stage and heard the loud rise of cheers and catcalls come up as Bella took the stage, he thought that perhaps he had waited too long.

He drained his glass and tipped the bartender before moving to the stage area to watch her dance, this time determined for her to see his face.

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**Uh oh... **

**This spells trouble. What's Edward gonna do?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Still with me?**

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It turned out to be a rather busy night, and for that, Bella was grateful. There was nothing worse than dancing naked on a stage with only a couple of old geezers sitting in Pervert's Row.

There were two bachelor parties going on currently, and Bella had already danced once on the main stage, had sweet talked her way into getting three men to buy lap dances from her and had easily collected one hundred and fifty dollars in tips.

It was coming up to the time for her to perform her feature piece, and she knew that once the men in the crowd saw her perform, the chances of landing more lap dances would become much better.

Bella was quick to get changed; she shed the baby doll and put her costume on over her black under things. A quick check in the mirror, a little adjusting of her makeup, and she was ready to go.

From the sounds of things, Britney's song was coming to an end in approximately forty seconds, which meant that Bella needed to high tail it out of there.

She made it to the side of the stage, despite the seven-inch stiletto boots, in plenty of time and plastered a wide smile on her face as a few young and drunk boys sitting by the stage leered at her. "Hi,"she mouthed and winked. The guy in the middle punched his friend in the shoulder, the boys laughing and ribbing their friends. Bella only smiled wider at their typical response.

She was dressed in costume, something she'd picked up for fifty dollars off of eBay. The idea had come to her one night when Rosalie had been talking about Emmett, her sometimes fuck buddy, who happened to be a fireman.

The saucy black and red uniform had the word "smoking" written in bright red across her chest.

She looked up in time to see Britney, naked as the day she was born, picking up her clothes and strutting off the stage. Bella passed her and climbed to the stage herself.

Tyler's voice broke out over the sound of a bass-filled tune. "This little lady is a sure firecracker! She's broken out of the fire station tonight to show you exactly what she can do with a fire hose. But be careful boys. This Miss is probably better at starting fires than putting them out! Let's hear it for Isa!"

The loud beats of Bella's chosen song filled the club as she strutted down the stage toward where the pole was situated. Bella was no stranger to the pole. She'd done this gig before. Sure it had been years ago, but Bella had actually thoroughly enjoyed pole dancing and had continued going to classes even after she'd finished her stripping gig when she'd been at college.

Her eyes scanned the crowd sitting in "Perverts Row." Bella had managed to place the types of men who visited strip clubs into four main categories. The first were the bachelor parties and Bella's least favorite out of all of the groups – although the groom of each event was usually generally all right. It was the boys – and truly they were boys – who came with the groom that were the worst. Generally, they were drunk and loud, and while these two factors weren't that bad, they were also gropey. And Bella hated nothing more than a kid who thought that tipping her meant that he was allowed to slap her ass or grab a handful of her breast.

The second group were the ones who came during the week, the businessmen. They paid a lot of money, drank a lot, and would try and convince the girls to go back to their hotel rooms for the night, most of them leaving with empty pockets and alone.

The college kids fell into the third group and usually left after they spent all their money on booze and lap dances.

And the last group were those that sat in Pervert's Row. They sat there all night, sometimes tipping, sometimes just watching as girl after girl got up on the stage and danced. They had their favorite girls who they would purchase lap dances from; even Bella had a couple that had taken to her.

Scanning the crowd, she could see Harry, a man in his late forties, divorced, and a father of two. He was the owner of a small restaurant downtown, which Bella made sure to steer clear of knowing that the man would instantly recognize her if she ever showed her face.

Gripping the pole in her hands, Bella began to work her way around it, twisting her body, climbing it, and sliding back down – just like a fireman's pole. It was a simple but artful routine, and there was definitely an art to stripping.

The routine could be easily divided up into three acts. The first act was mostly walking around the stage, using the pole, dancing in time to the beat, doing a few variations of various known stripper moves. By the end of the first act, Bella would usually have removed the outer clothing she wore, leaving her in just her underwear.

This time, she had her fire-fighter outfit on, held together by a zipper that ran down her front, and Bella slowly unzipped the leather material until it fell apart, revealing her flat stomach. The costume dropped to the floor, and Bella once again began to dance. She threw in a couple of special dance moves: the Spread Eagle, the Quick Walk, the Spread Eagle – with clever finger placement, the Slow Walk', the Spread Eagle – with floor dry humping. The end of this routine finished with Bella's personal favorite of the "Bend Over And Look At The Crowd Between Your Legs" move. The end of act two was fast approaching, and Bella knew it was time to take off her top.

A few boys had placed a couple of tens on the stage edge, so Bella made her way over to them to dance especially for them. The boys in front of her were quite young, probably only nineteen or twenty, she guessed. Their mouths popped open as they stared. She took the bills and tucked them under a tie on her ankle, smiled coquettishly at them, and then began to slowly lower herself to a crouching position. Taking a seat on the side of the stage, she propped her feet up on either side of one of the boy's chairs. Gradually, she reached behind her and pulled on the strings of her top, removing the skimpy fabric and revealing her breasts. She leaned forward and pressed herself against the face of one of the boys. He moaned loudly as her nipple grazed his chin, so close to his mouth. She did this for a little while and then moved on to the next guy. Toward the end of the second song. or "the second act." Bella stood up again, winked, and sashayed across the stage to the other side to pay some of the other patrons some attention.

It was then that she noticed the twenty. Sitting on the stage, Bella's eyes drifted upward to smile at the man who had placed his offering there, but her smile faltered as she took in the rugged good looks of the dark-haired man sitting there. _No, it couldn't be. _Her heart thudded loudly in her chest, her pulse racing from a stab of fear.

_Edward Cullen._ He was here, sitting front and center, his expression guarded, but she could still detect the daring look he gave her in his eyes.

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**O.o**

**Tell me what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

There was one thing for certain – after tonight, Edward was never going to be able to look at the poles at the fire station the same way again. He watched as Bella climbed the pole, wrapping her long tanned legs around it, before sliding slowly and suggestively to the floor. To think that Bella, his stubborn and downright infuriating Bella, was currently the most lusted after person in the entire room – and for good reason.

Edward's eyes darkened with each skimpy piece of her costume that was shed, revealing her swaying, nubile body. Her performance tonight was particularly raunchy, and he felt the hot wave of lust surge through his body as he watched her rub herself against one of the members in the audience. _What a body,_ he thought he gritted his teeth as he shifted in his seat, his erection straining painfully against his jeans. On most nights he could usually control himself, lock down on those desires so that they didn't mess with his head – but not tonight.

He watched her move about the stage, oozing sexual energy. Edward hated himself for admiring the sway of her hips, hated himself for imaging what it would be like to cup those small, pert breasts in his own hands, to think of how it would feel to have her moaning and writhing on top of him, riding his hard cock like she was now riding the pole. He gripped the sides of his chair, scowling at the forbidden territory that his lewd thoughts had led him to. He wasn't here to watch her dance. He was here to confront her – something he couldn't very well do with a raging boner.

Edward closed his eyes and tried to count his breaths, trying to think of something, _anything _other than the sight of the sexy siren on stage. He tensed his quadriceps, the muscles in the fronts of his legs, so that the demand of blood in his legs would override the need for blood in well, _other_ places. He ran through the list of images in his mind: Chernobyl babies with their skin peeling off from radiation, wrinkly old people doing it on a kitchen table and when that didn't seem to do the trick, he tried to conjugate as many French verbs as he could remember from back in his college days – certainly a harder feat than one would think).

With the situation under relative control now, he opened his eyes. Bella was making her way around the stage, collecting tips from appreciative patrons. This was his chance. Edward leaned forward to place his offering on the stage just as she came around. He watched her lift her head up with a ready coquettish smile before horror flickered in her brown eyes.

He tilted his head, keeping his expression impassive, and here she seemed to freeze for a moment. The corner of Edward's mouth lifted up with just a ghost of a smile as he leaned back in his seat. As bad as it was for him to admit, catching Bella off guard like this was more amusing than he'd thought it would be.

Bella recovered quickly enough, although she hesitated a fraction… Maybe she could continue walking past him, leave his offering on the stage, and take to the pole once again. Her eyes flickered down to the twenty; was it worth it? It was just one dance, and it definitely wasn't as though she was repulsed by him. Appearance wise, Edward had it going on. And she'd be a liar if she said she'd never fantasized about what it'd be like to be with him.

It only took her a moment to make her decision; she squatted down, her legs widened, and she picked up the tip, attaching it under the tie on her ankle. She crawled on her hands and knees until she was right at the edge of the stage. Her hand reached out to stroke the side of Edward's face as he leaned forward. She situated her body, much like she had with the younger boys on the opposite side of the stage. Her torso swayed in time to the music as she continued with her routine; her hands swept down her body, touching her skin, playing with her breasts. Her eyes watched his as they swept down her body, taking her all in, and an unwelcome pang of desire hit her. Her skin blazed hot. Her nipples were already hard from the air conditioning that blasted in the place, but they hardened to painful points now as Edward's eyes raked over her.

He held himself completely still as Bella leaned in towards him, her long hair brushing his cheek and tickling his neck through the open collar of his dark shirt. He could smell her perfume, a familiar citrusy scent mixed in with her shampoo.

Stripping was all an act: the things she told the boys, the clothes she wore, the way she looked at them as though she desired them, even her name. It was all an act. And she would play the part now, for appearance's sake. But as she leaned forward, her cheek brushed against his stubble, and shivers rippled down her spine.

He clenched his jaw as her lips moved closer, ghosting over his cheek in an appearance of a kiss, only to have her lean in to to whisper, "What the hell are you doing here, Edward?"

"I could just about ask you the same thing, sweetheart," Edward murmured pleasantly, his own lips brushing against the tip of her ear.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I work here," she murmured back as she continued to sway. His lips tickled at her ear, and Bella felt a hard lump forming in her throat at the sensation.

Edward pulled away.

Bella was well aware of where her erogenous zones were, her earlobe being a particularly sensitive one, but Edward pulled back, and Bella caught the gleam in his eye.

_He's enjoying this!_ She realized. A small scowl formed on her lips at the thought. Well, two could play at that game, and Bella knew that she could be a very good player.

In a move that echoed the one she'd done earlier, Bella placed two hands on either side of Edward's head to keep him still and leaned forward, brushing the tips of her breasts over Edward's rough stubble. The sensation was, quite alarmingly, very stimulating, and Bella's body began to react in a way that had never happened before, at least not while she'd been stripping.

He closed his eyes, gritting his teeth as Bella's nipples trailed across his stubble and up against his lips.

Heat welled up between her thighs, and a fluttering sensation deep in her womb made Bella squirm uncomfortably, and she found herself guiding her breasts against Edward's mouth, something she so rarely did, the tips of her nipples brushed his lips.

_No! Pull away, Bella. _Her subconscious warned her, but Bella was so overcome with the sensations of dancing like this with Edward – Edward her neighbor! _Pull away!_

Almost reluctantly, Bella moved back. She tried to keep her face calm and seductive but she knew it would be difficult to hide her arousal. She just hoped that Edward didn't use it against her.

When he opened his eyes, they had darkened to a smoky charcoal as Edward watched her sway before him.

They were well into the third and final song, which meant that Bella was nearly finished with her routine. In a few quick maneuvers, Bella swiveled on the stage and pushed herself up until she was back on her feet again. She glanced over at Edward, who was watching her, his eyes dark with desire and a look that made her pussy clench. Her hips swayed in time to the sensual beat, and her fingers lowered down her body, pushing the skimpy fabric of her bottoms down her legs and move over the long stiletto heels of her shoes.

She bent at the waist as she went, her long hair spilling downward. Her actions exposing her pink, swollen sex in a move that she'd never actually done before. This sort of move was certainly a popular dance move, but usually the other girls would perform it with at least a layer of clothing in the way.

His jaw was clenched as his eyes drifted over the curves of her ass to the glistening of her... _Jesus Christ._ He was torn between watching her and abruptly walking away.

Once her panties were removed, Bella turned around again and stepped closer to the edge of the stage, standing directly above Edward. She knew that he'd have the best view in the house. She knew that he'd be able to see how wet she was, but she also knew that she'd won. Edward's eyes were glazed over, dark and heavy with lust. And she knew that while Edward hated her, there was some part of him, a big part, if Bella could discern from looking at his crotch, that at the very least, wanted her for her body.

And that certainly was satisfactory enough.

Smirking, Bella turned on her heel and flounced over toward the pole center stage. She had about a minute and a half left of her song and quickly glancing around, she could see half a dozen young men waving their bills around at her, wanting a little piece of the action. A quick assessment and Bella made note of the men who waved larger bills at her. She memorized their faces. She would leave them but would approach them later and try to convince them to buy lap dances from her. The boys who waved five-dollar notes at her now would get her brief attention, and she'd take their money. She strolled around the edge of the stage, walking slowly, smiling sweetly at the men who offered her monetary gifts and dancing for all of twenty seconds in their presence before moving on.

As the song was nearing its end, Bella realized that she'd have to make her exit. She blew a kiss to her patrons and gathered her clothes. Her eyes met with Edward's for a brief second, and she saw a hard and determined look there.

Spotting the next girl to perform at the bottom of the stairs she gathered her clothes in her arms and made her exit, strutting naked but confidently off the stage.

In the safety of the changing rooms, Bella relaxed. She strode toward her locker and dropped her costume in her bag because she wouldn't need it again that night. She picked up her regular baby doll negligee and matching underwear and then turned to face the full length mirror.

Glancing at herself naked in the mirror, Bella couldn't help but judge herself. Her boobs were too small in comparison to some of the other girls; her hips were too narrow, and she could see some of her ribs poking out.

Bella glanced away. This wasn't the time to be feeling down about herself. After all, hadn't she just had a bunch of men waving bills at her, proving how desirable she was? She glanced over her shoulder at herself and wondered what it was they saw.

Taking a deep breath, Bella did her best to rid her mind of the negative thoughts. She was _Isa._ Isa was confident, sexy and in control. _Isa_ wouldn't see the bad parts about herself; she'd only see the good. She'd see exactly what it was that the men in the crowds saw in her.

_I am confident, sexy and in control._ With a firm nod, Bella quickly got redressed and headed out the door of the changing rooms, ready to make more money.

_That debt wasn't going to repay itself._

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**Debt? What debt!?**

**The plot thickens! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to everyone who has added this an alert or favourite and to those that have reviewed! **

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Edward rose to his feet, finding his legs (to his displeasure) a little shaky at what he'd just seen. He headed for the bar for another drink, thinking he had just enough time for one before Bella finished changing back into her usual get-up which – thankfully – wasn't quite as raunchy as the one she'd just stripped off.

_You need to get your head with it, Cullen,_ he rebuked himself sharply. Edward needed to remember he was here for business, not pleasure. He couldn't let Bella get to him, to entice him like that. And it would do well for the rest of his body to remember that too.

He abandoned his empty glass on the bar and headed toward the back of the club where the entrances to the girls' dressing rooms and private rooms were located. Edward paused, glancing around for the beefy bouncer who usually stood guard at the hallway. To his satisfaction, he found the man distracted by a scantily clad serving girl who was clearly flirting with him. _Excellent_. He seized the opportunity to slip down the hallway in search of Bella.

As Bella left the change rooms, her body connected with one of someone much larger. "Sorry," she mumbled before glancing up. The man she'd bumped into was tall, and she figured it must be one of the bouncers coming back to check on things, but shock gripped her when she realized who it was.

"Edward! What are you doing back here…? You shouldn't…" She glanced around them, to make sure no one had followed him.

"What are you doing?" she repeated.

Edward's green eyes swept over her, pausing to take in the latest costume change. He'd seen this one before and preferred it by far to her many other get-ups. It was simple, black and transparent enough that he could see her lacy bra and flimsy thong masquerading as underwear through the fabric. The hem of her dress just skimmed the soft skin of her upper thigh, and Edward knew that if Bella bent over, he would be treated to a delicious sight…

_Focus!_Remembering himself, he dropped his hands. "I was looking for you, actually. We need to talk." Edward paused. "In private." His tone was serious, leaving no room for argument.

"I can't," Bella snapped. "I've got to work. I don't have time for chit chat." And that was the truth. This was the time of night that Bella usually made most of her money. The club was in peak hour, and after featuring in the show she'd just performed… Well, she knew there was a lot of money to be made from horny men who wanted to see her up close. Men who had a lot of money to give her!

Bella had already wasted a lot of time in the change room, having her self-image issues with the mirror. She couldn't afford to continue wasting time listening to whatever bullshit Edward had to say about how she shouldn't be doing this, blah blah blah.

No one knew more than Bella how true that was, but she didn't need Edward, who thought himself far superior to everyone just because he was a damn fireman just because he spent his days saving lives…

She scowled, ducked her head and tried to get past him, but his hand shot out to grab her wrist.

"Edward…" she warned. "I'll scream, and you'll get kicked out of here." Not that she would. She definitely didn't want to see what would happen to him if she did… Men tended to get more than just kicked out when they broke the rules. Edward must have read the hesitance in her eyes, because he didn't release her. He held her gaze until Bella couldn't look at him any longer.

"I have to go…" she whispered, ducking her head. "I have to work…"

Edward knew that if Bella had wanted to, she could have raised her voice to call the bouncers and all hell would have broken loose. He couldn't touch her. Not here. Not when she was Isa. He knew that.

But that didn't stop him from holding onto her hand. At the sight of her lowered head, Edward felt something twist in him. It wasn't anger on her face but something else that he wasn't able to quite place… a vulnerability that hadn't been there when Bell took the stage.

"Please," Edward said. There was a pause, and sensing that he wouldn't be able to gain her attention for long – and the possibility that he might get her into trouble if she wasn't attending to her clients outside – a thought occurred to him. "How much for a dance?"

"Thirty dollars for one song," she said, her gaze none too wary.

She didn't know why she felt her heart sink when Edward asked her for a dance. She should have realized that this was just about sex and that Edward wanted nothing more than to see what it felt like to have some girl grind over his cock, get him hard and wanting, see naked tits, ass and pussy and then go home with enough material to masturbate to.

Except that Edward wasn't the type of guy who needed to get off alone. So she was somewhat curious to find out why he felt he needed her.

Edward did the math in his head, figuring that one song would be roughly about three minutes. Three minutes. He needed more than that…"What about six dances?"

Bella's eyes widened as he asked how much six dances would cost him. No one had ever asked her for six dances. She blanched, trying to work out it in her head. "A hundred and eighty…"

"Okay," he agreed, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his wallet. Edward plucked out a few bills and held them out to Bella. "The private room?" he asked with a raise of his eyebrows.

Bella's eyebrows rose. She definitely hadn't thought that he would actually hand over the money as though it were nothing. The guy was a firefighter, after all, and while he did an admirable job, she doubted that he earned a whole lot, especially not enough to just be tossing money her way.

She bit her lip as she took the two bills in her hand, bent down and tucked them underneath her heel, in between her foot and the sole of her shoe.

"All right, let's go." Bella slipped her hand into Edward's and led him back down the hallway, toward where the main doors led to the common areas.

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**A gentle reminder that this story is rated M for mature. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A bit of a longer one than usual for you. **

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From there, she led him across the room and into a curtained section where Jared, one of the bouncers, was standing, his thick arms crossed over his chest.

Edward couldn't help the corner of his mouth twitching down in a frown as he noted the way one of the bouncers at the entrance of the guarded section blatantly checked Bella out. _Not Bella_, he reminded himself with a scowl, _Isa._ As hard as it was, for the sake of his own sanity he had to keep the two identities separate in his mind.

She turned the corner and led Edward toward the back. Stereo speakers were set up around the place, pumping music, although at a much quieter level than what was playing in the main area.

"Why don't you take a seat?" she said, gesturing to the large leather seat.

Edward settled down on the long chaise she pointed out to him. As she turned to fiddle with the music, Edward observed his surroundings. He didn't think much of her actions, figuring she needed to at least give the appearance that she was entertaining him even if she really wasn't. But Edward still felt a twinge of impatience at her slow going.

Bella turned back around to face Edward, her game face on. She looked up at him through her eyelashes, her lips parted as she began to sway in time to the music. She moved closer and leaned over Edward, and using her fingernails, she drew a light, teasing line down his arms.

Her hips moved in time to the beat, drawing an invisible circle as she gyrated. She moved closer until she was standing between his thighs and could rub her hands upward over his jeans, stroking his inner thighs and then moving back down again.

A look of confusion crossed Edward's face. "What are you doing?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she moved closer to him, her torso brushing up against his inner thighs and sending pleasant bolts of electricity through his body. Bella leaned forward, giving Edward a good eyeful of her cleavage as her hands stroked down his stomach to the dangerous territory of his jeans.

He grabbed her wrist, steeling her movements. "Bella, what exactly do you think you're doing?" His eyes were dark with unmistaken annoyance.

"You paid for a dance, Edward. That's what I'm doing. I'm dancing…" She gave him a sweet, coy smile, and glanced at the hand currently wrapped around her wrist. She turned her body so that her back was facing him, and while he gripped her wrist, it didn't hinder her from moving her body.

Bella lowered herself until her ass was resting directly against Edward's crotch; she began to move, still in time with the music, against him. A small smile grew over her lips as something else began to grow beneath her.

"I paid for six dances because I couldn't get you alone to talk any other way. You're damn well not going to dance six times like this." Edward growled as he felt himself grow uncomfortably hard at the friction from Bella's warm body rubbing up against his crotch. While he had one of her hands secured, the other hand mischievously moved down to gently trail over the bulge in his pants. His body stiffened with a mixture of lust and anger, his grip on her hand tightening instinctively.

"Bella, _stop it,_" he hissed as he grabbed her waist, tugging her against him in a desperate attempt to stop her.

Bella looked over her shoulder, her eyes meeting Edward's. "If you want to talk to me, fine, but I'm not going to stop dancing. If you don't want me to dance, then let me know and I can leave."

How the fuck was he supposed to be able to talk to her with her hot as fuck ass grinding up against his erection like that? Edward growled at the innocent look in Bella's eyes as she offered, just as sweetly, to leave.

He was aware that his grip on her was probably starting to get a little painful – not that Bella had made any sound to indicate so. The more sadistic side of him hoped that it left a mark on her. He had never met a more infuriating woman before in his _life_.

"No." He clenched his jaw. "Fine. Stay. Dance."

Edward slowly let go of her wrist, pausing just long enough to brush his fingers over the tender skin in a silent apology. He leaned back against the sofa and allowed Bella to continue. _How am I going to sit through six songs of this?_he thought as Bella bent down again, letting the hem of her indecently short teddy ride up to expose the skimpy thong she was wearing. If she kept this up, he wouldn't even be able to sit through _one._

"But… rules," he declared, his green eyes dark as Bella turned around to straddle his lap. He hid a satisfied smile as his words clearly caught her off guard. "Dance all six damn songs if you must, but you'll have to answer every question I have for you."

Bella smiled triumphantly, although she didn't like the sound of Edward wanting to ask her questions while she danced. Normally guys didn't talk… They were too distracted. She especially didn't like where this was heading, with Edward. She nodded her head. He'd said nothing about answering honestly.

Bella turned her head so she could continue dancing. She placed her hands on Edward's thighs for support and began to grind her ass over him. Maybe if she distracted Edward, he wouldn't ask many questions.

"Why are you here, Bella?" His question was soft, gentle. Certainly not harsh and demanding, or judgmental, like she'd expected such a question from him to be.

Bella slowly moved her arms up her body, caressing herself through the fabric of her baby doll, to the ties around her back. Her hips continued to gyrate in time to the music as she considered his question.

She couldn't tell him the truth. But she could tell him some of it. Shrugging, she played it off as no big deal. "I need a bit of extra cash," she said.

Edward watched as Bella ran her fingers through her long, glossy hair, fanning out across her back and over her shoulders. He watched the baby doll slither to the floor, leaving him with an undisturbed view of Bella's soft, tantalizing curves. Catching his eye, she leaned over, cupped her breasts with her hands as if offering them invitingly for him to feast his gaze on. Edward drew in a sharp breath as he felt another heady surge of lust grip him.

It wasn't just the sight of her stripping off her clothes or her swaying body that had his cock chafing against his pants, but the way she bit down on her bottom lip, glancing up at him through her dark lashes, feigning shyness. It was that satisfied smile that danced on the corners of her lips as her eyes flicked down to his growing bulge and the way she stroked her hands over her taut stomach, down the soft skin of her inner thighs as she watched him, seeming to know just how much he wished they were _his_ hands touching her like that. The coquettish smile she flashed at him as she slowly came forward to climb back on top of him seemed to say: _I know what you're thinking. I know_exactly_how much you want me. I know you hate yourself for wanting to touch me… to taste me…_

His hips arched instinctively as she rubbed over his crotch, earning a low laugh from the vixen. Edward narrowed his eyes and straightened his back as he tried to focus. _Focus!_ But how could he focus with the sight of that almost bare ass moving against him like that?

Edward wasn't sure he would be able to control himself. Not with her so close to him like this. Not after what he'd seen tonight.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to clear the cloud of lust from his mind. What had Bella said? She needed the extra cash? "Why?" he asked. Realizing that it sounded a little brusque, Edward added more gently, "Is everything okay?"

So one of his guesses had indeed been right. It was a financial thing. Although he wasn't quite sure why. She had a good job writing for the magazine. And it was hardly like she could be earning big money here at this seedy establishment. She could be easily raking in more at one of the higher-end gentlemen's clubs in town. She probably wouldn't even need to resort to such lewd, naked displays to earn half of what she was getting for them here.

Bella's skin pebbled under Edward's fingers as he ever so lightly brushed his hands over the narrowest part of her waist. Her breath hitched. Guys touched her all the time. They were constantly testing where the boundary lines were, and Bella would always subtly guide them to what was okay and what wasn't. It was a silent communication that didn't shatter the illusion that Bella wanted them, and it kept her safe.

Except, Bella realized, she did want Edward. Her body responded to him in a way it had never responded to any man before. And she'd been with a lot of men. He had so much power over her, over her body and her mind. She knew part of the reason why she didn't get along with Edward was because of the way he made her feel when she was around him. Except she didn't know why, and she certainly didn't want to know.

"Fine," Bella said. Obviously, he was refusing to be distracted. Why did she need the extra cash? She refused to tell him the truth.

"I've got a guilty secret," she murmured as she leaned forward, her clothed breasts swaying in front of his face. "Promise not to tell anyone?" Edward nodded his head, his eyes battling between looking up at her face and staring at her curves.

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**So do you think that Bella is gonna tell Edward the truth here? **


	7. Chapter 7

Her fingers went to the strings of her top. Edwards's lips parted as if to protest, but nothing came out.

She pulled at the black fabric, and in two movements, it had fallen off landing between them. Bella picked it up and tossed it to the side, she slid up Edward's body farther. Taking his head between her hands, she pulled him toward her, rubbing herself against the stubble of his chin. Her nipples, already so sensitive, pebbled into hardened peaks.

Edward was forced to hold himself perfectly still as the tips of Bella's soft breasts grazed his chin, her hard nipples brushing against his mouth. He met her gaze with a smoldering one of his own. He parted his lips ever so slightly until the slightest shift on her part had her nipples brushing against his tongue.

It was a daring move, one that just skirted the edge of the no touching policy and could get him kicked out of the club. But he hated being forced to just sit there and endure the endless teasing. Bella needed a taste of her own medicine.

He heard her stifle a gasp as she pulled away. Edward's eyes drifted to her breasts – the hard buds had puckered up completely now.

As Bella continued to tease Edward, her lips lowered to his ear as if to tell him a secret.

"I'm addicted to buying shoes. This is funding my bad habit."

He lifted his gaze, narrowing his eyes at Bella. Needless to say, he hadn't appreciated her answer. Shoe addiction his ass!

"I ought to smack you for that," he growled. Edward's cock twitched in his pants at the thought.

His words did nothing to dampen the heat between Bella's thighs. A wicked thought crossed her mind as she imagined herself bent over Edward's knee as he sensually smacked and massaged her backside, his fingers exposing her, exploring her sex; her entire body went warm at the thought. She found herself grinding herself over Edward's hardened cock, needing to find a little friction of her own. She moaned.

He clenched his jaw. That hadn't been the first time his hand had itched to do something like that. God only knew how he had managed to restrain himself time and time again. She was the most exasperatingly stubborn creature on Earth, and if anyone needed a good smack on the ass, it was definitely her. Maybe it would teach her a thing or two about her constant smart-aleck remarks.

"I suggest you don't tempt me," Edward said darkly before he paused, trying to get his thoughts back in order.

"You're not being forced to work here or anything, are you?" he asked abruptly. It was a horrifying thought, but not entirely impossible… in any case, it was the only worst case scenario he could think of.

Bella stripping of her own free will wasn't necessarily something that sat well with him, but he would prefer it over finding out that she was being forced into it or something fucked up like that. His jaw tightened.

Edward frowned as Bella leaned in close, she was practically pressed up his chest at that point. And try as he might, Edward could no longer move back in his seat to create that little gap of space he needed to keep his mind clear.

He glanced up at her breasts which hovered tantalizingly above him. He could see a light sheen from when those hardened nipples had brushed against his tongue, and the way she angled herself again seemed to invite him to take them in his mouth.

_You know you want to..._her coy smile seemed to whisper as she swayed above him.

Bella was getting frustrated. He was still talking about her work, something that was really beginning to irritate her. Couldn't he see that she didn't want to talk about this?

"What would you do if I was…" she asked coyly. She looked up at him through her eyelashes. Her fingers danced across his chest as she leaned in again to offer her breasts once more. Maybe he'd take her nipple in again, she hoped he would suck it, bite it… Anything!

"Would you save me, Edward?"

Edward took a deep breath, steeling himself against such temptations.

He narrowed his eyes at her playful question. She was mocking him. He was sure of it. But Edward wasn't so much bothered by that as much as he was by the truth to that question that nagged at him no matter how hard he tried to get away from it.

"I'm serious, Bella," he said a little sharply.

Bella took his head in between two hands, but instead of pressing his face against her breasts, she tilted it so he was looking at her. "Edward." She pursed her lips as she tried to formulate the best response in her mind. "It's sweet that you care, it really is… But I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. I've got my reasons for doing this, and you're just going to have to respect that."

Edward turned his head, brushing her words impatiently away. Why couldn't she just answer the damn question? He could sleep at night if he knew she wasn't being forced into something sordid.

He didn't want to care about Bella. After all, she had never given two hoots about him before. But that had never stopped Edward from being drawn to her. It wasn't an attraction really – at least, that's what he tried to tell himself. It was more like an interest. She fascinated him with her exasperating ways and doggone stubbornness... her passion… and the way she could hold a conversation with him and throw back just as many quick-barbed retorts his way as he did hers.

In short, Edward had never met anyone quite like Bella.

She was touched that he cared. His words had affected her more than they should have and it disturbed her, somewhat. Bella and Edward usually bickered and carried on or else completely ignored each other all together.

"Does anyone know? I mean... Rosalie, Alice? Do they know?"

"Of course not," Bella replied, flinching backward. She'd gone to great lengths to make sure her friends didn't know. She didn't want to feel the shame every time she left the house, seeing Rosalie's disapproving eyes or Alice blushing whenever Bella mentioned anything about it.

"I haven't told them," Edward assured her. "I haven't told anyone. I wanted to see you tonight first, to ask you about it..."

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**Sorry, that's a bit of a rude place to put the end of a chapter but I promise the next one will be a bit longer. And it'll be up in a couple of hours. :)**

**Tell me what your thoughts are so far! I'm so keen to know.**


	8. Chapter 8

The music changed, and Bella remembered that she was supposed to be dancing, not talking. Edward was distracting her. She wasn't doing her job. Snapping out of it, she began to move again. She inched backward until she was once again standing.

"You've been naughty, Edward. Distracting me and all…" She turned the seduction back on, forcing herself to clear her mind of their heavy conversation. Bella stepped up onto the small platforms on either side of Edward's chair. They gave her better leverage over his body.

She shimmied her thong down her legs and flicked it off with a shake of her heeled foot.

Edward turned his eyes away from the sight of the intimate skin that Bella was teasing him with. With all the overarching puzzlement and drama, the hot lust in his veins had cooled, and he found himself reluctant, even a little ashamed to have paid Bella to dance for him like this.

It didn't seem to matter that he hadn't had another way of getting her alone .His guilt rose up all the same.

"I think I like you better when you aren't dancing for me," Edward murmured more to himself than to Bella.

His comment about not wanting to see her dance cut deeper than it should have. Bella sighed, defeated, as she realized that Edward wasn't paying attention. In fact he was looking away.

She stepped down from the platform and moved closer to him, straddled him again, her knees planted on either side of him as she moved her body down his. Her hands trailing down his arms, over his chest and stomach and down his thighs.

A surge of pleasure shot through her as his eyes flickered over her again except then his eyes shot back up to her face and he was once again questioning her.

"Who's that man who's always talking to you before and after your performances?" he asked as the ends of her long mahogany hair brushed against his chest. "He's not a bouncer."

"What guy?" Bella pretended to think of whom he might be referring to, although she knew immediately he must mean Riley. It didn't escape her notice that Edward had stuck around enough to notice her patterns. "Oh… Him… He works here." She shrugged as though it were not big deal.

Edward found himself narrowing his eyes. "He isn't your lover… is he?"

He wasn't sure why he found that idea so unpleasant. But it was, and little stabs of resentment followed closely on the heels of that revelation.

"Ew! Hell no. He's not…" Bella scowled, her shoulders tensing at the thought of Riley and her together. The thought almost made her physically sick. It wasn't as though Riley were unappealing looks-wise. Actually, the opposite could be said. Riley usually didn't have problems getting women to go home with him. Once upon a time, Bella might have been one of those girls, but as soon as she'd gotten to know the guy behind the money, charm, and good looks, she realized he was not someone she wanted to spend her time with.

"He's the owner here; all the girls usually end up speaking with him." She tossed her hair over her shoulders and arched her back, stretched her arms over her head, and began to rotate her hips again.

_Speaking with him? Or sleeping with?_ Edward couldn't help thinking darkly.

"And I really don't want to talk about him…" She lowered her arms again and leaned forward.

Before he could press her for more details, Bella had rubbed up against him again. He could feel her hard nipples brushing against his chest, which he found (to his surprise) were exposed by the one or two buttons that had been worked free on his dress shirt. When had she managed to do that?

"Your time's nearly up, Edward… Just… let me make you feel good," she begged. She bent to whisper in his ear. "No more questions. You can touch me if you want to."

Her last words were almost a plea. She realized she wanted him to touch her. Badly.

Edward's shoulders tensed at her seductive words. Her invitation to touch her was too good to be true.

No, it wasn't just an invitation. The way she had breathed those words… it was more like she was _begging_ him to touch her… to taste her… to ravish her.

"Just… let me make you feel good." He could feel her lips brushing against his ear, could smell the soft citrus scent that clung to her warm skin and hair, so different from the cheap, generic perfume that most of the strippers he'd come to know wore. With his eyes shut, he could almost forget they were in a dark strip club. He could pretend that they were at her place or his, and that Bella was dancing for him like this, was touching him like this because _she_ wanted him and not because Edward had paid her to.

But they were not at home, and the girl straddling his lap was not Bella. It was Isa. Isa had no more true desire for Edward than she'd had for the gaggle of men she had teased and pleasured earlier that night.

Edward opened his eyes. He moved his hand to cover Bella's, stilling her from running her manicured nails down his chest. "I take it you're no longer interested in talking to me anymore tonight, then?" he asked quietly.

Bella pouted. "Don't be like that." She tried to move her hand from Edward's grasp, but he held her tightly. It didn't mean she couldn't still move her body, though, and her hips rotated over his groin.

Bella had never felt this way with any of the other clients she'd been with, and she realized it must have been because she knew Edward in her other life – he was her tie back to reality. In her mind she could pretend that she wasn't a stripper dancing in a seedy club, she wasn't Isa, and Edward wasn't just another client. She was Bella, and Edward was her boy-next-door.

She leaned forward again to sweep her lips over his neck. Her lips brushed the skin, and she could feel his pulse pounding under her mouth.

_Don't even think about it, Cullen,_ the little voice in his head warned him as Bella's lips moved from his ear down his neck. He stifled a groan as his other hand came up to rest on the back of her head. No man – not even Edward, could deny how good it felt to have a woman's soft lips against his skin.

_She doesn't really want you. She's not attracted to you. She doesn't even like you, remember? Wake up, buddy!_

It was like a splash of cold water to his face. Edward sat up, untangling himself from Bella's grasp. She had said so herself, hadn't she? She wasn't interested in answering any of his other questions.

"No. If you're not going to talk, I should go," he said gently but firmly. Edward rose to his feet. He ran a shaky hand through his hair and expelled a sigh before glancing down at his gaping shirt and moving to do the buttons up.

Bella glanced up at him with shock. "But… You've still got a song and a half left…" Bella gestured to the stereo system.

"No. If you're not going to talk, I should go."

Edward was leaving, a realization that left Bella reeling. Hurt stung through her and she quickly stood to her feet as well.

She'd known this going in. Of course Edward didn't want her; he hadn't paid for her dance because he wanted her. He wanted to ask her questions, the questions that she hadn't wanted to answer and so now he was fed up, and now he was leaving.

She wanted to beg him to stay. But she wouldn't.

She watched, sudden exhaustion hitting her as he did up the buttons of his shirt.

"Fine," she said after a long pause. "I've got other people to see anyway." She reached down to pick up her clothes.

Edward's eyes flashed with annoyance at the way she dismissed him so easily in favour of the men who lounged around outside. As he smoothened down the collar of his shirt, he realized that her doing so only served to support his theory that everything she'd done that night had only been another one of her brilliant acts.

She hadn't actually been seriously attracted to him. It was Bella.

To think that he'd almost believed her. He shook his head at his own idiocy. When Bella finished picking up her things from the floor, Edward leaned down to murmur in her ear. "You win tonight, Bella. But this isn't over." His tone was pleasant, but the promise in it was very real. "I don't give up so easily."

He paused, and before he could second-guess himself, he brushed his lips against her forehead. The corner of his mouth turned up in a wry smile. "Thanks for the dance, sweetheart."

Then he was gone.

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**Am uploading this from my iPad. Thank God it's the weekend! Will try to get a few more chapters up today!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for all of your continued support. **

**Every time I get a new review alert I completely stop what I'm doing to read it. **

**I reckon this might be the last post for today, but will post again soon. **

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Bella would have thrown her stiletto shoe at him after the way he so patronizingly kissed her forehead and made her feel like a five year old. But she wouldn't have been able to get the strappy shoe off her foot in time; Edward had turned on his heel and had left without another word.

"What a dick," Bella muttered as she angrily tied the string bikini on around her body and slipped into the baby doll once more. She straightened her back, set her shoulders and after turning the stereo system off, she determinedly strode out the private room back into the common areas.

Setting a pleasant smile on her face, Bella strode through the room, she'd seen Clara on the other side of the room and had begun to make her way toward her friend, sometimes the girls would pair up and try to win groups of men over for lap dances. But she was stopped by one of her regulars.

"Isa, I've been looking for you all night sweetheart. Don't tell me this part of your teasing act."

And just like that, Bella had flicked the switch. She would leave Bella in the private room, this was Isa's gig.

By the end of the night, Bella had made more money than she normally did and was busy counting the notes. She'd made over a thousand. Riley would be happy.

She took two fifties for herself and tucked them into her bra; Riley's deal was to give everything over but Bella didn't think that was fair. So she kept a little something for herself and gave the rest to Riley at the end of every night.

She was relieved to see that Riley wasn't in his office when she arrived there; she found a blank and empty envelope sitting on his desk. She slipped the money inside it with a note to say it was from her. But just as she was about to leave it there the door to Riley's office opened and the man himself entered.

"Bella… Sorry, Isa I should say." A slow smile crossed his face.

"Riley… Glad I didn't miss you," she lied. She straightened up and held out the envelope for Riley. "Here's the money… There's a grand in there."

"Wow!" Riley grinned. "You certainly did well tonight. Don't tell me you were giving extras out…"Riley laughed at his own joke as he took Bella's offering. His gaze raked down her body before flickering back up to her face.

Riley was certainly an attractive enough man, looks wise. He was in his mid-thirties, had a full head of hair and was in good shape. But he also knew he was good-looking and unfortunately considered himself to be a God given gift to women. It wasn't unusual for Riley to hit on Bella after one of her shows.

He'd even offered to cut off some of her debt if she slept with him. But Bella wasn't going to do that. It was one thing to expose her body to strangers that would pay her; it was another thing completely to hand over everything she had for money.

And yet, she'd come so close to doing just that with Edward earlier…

_No, that was different. _With Edward, she'd _wanted _it.

"So, do I get a private show?"Riley asked. Bella glanced up at him sharply. She wanted nothing more than to tell him to go to hell but she bit her tongue and smiled sweetly instead.

"Maybe next time, Riley… I've got to head home."

Riley frowned, dark annoyance flashing in his eyes. He wasn't used to girls rejecting him. Bella figured he ought to be getting used to it coming from her.

"Next time then."Riley finally conceded.

Relief flooded her and she was thankful that Riley hadn't pressed.

"But I will need you working Wednesday, Friday and next Saturday."

Bella's mouth popped open in protest. _Three nights?_

Anger filled Bella as she left the club and stepped out onto the streets of San Francisco. It was past four in the morning and the streets were mostly empty of cars. She'd called for a cab inside and was now waiting on the sidewalk for it to turn up.

She folded her arms across her chest as she seethed. Riley knew that she had another job. That she was only doing this to pay back her stupid debt. How on earth was she going to manage work _and _an extra night? Wednesday nights were usually when she spent time with her friends.

Edward had meant to walk out of the room and keep on walking past the doors of the seedy strip club to outside where he'd parked his car. But his desperate need for a drink made his legs stop by the bar in the back. The bartender recognized him from earlier and flashed him a grin. "Long night?"

"You could say that, yeah."

"We have girls for that you know, mate… they're meant to help clear your head."

"Is that so now?" Edward raised his brow. "Cause my head seems to hurt a lot more from being around them."

He glossed over the skinny Asian girl currently stripping on the stage and turned his attention instead to Bella who had just emerged on the floor. Edward raised his glass thoughtfully to his lips, trying to think over what he'd just learnt. But she had barely taken three steps when a tall, light-haired man approached her.

His eyes darkened as he watched him whisper something in her ear, slipping a few bills into her hand as Bella giggled and brushed her body against his. A moment later, the two of them had gone no doubt to occupy the same room she'd taken Edward. He wasn't quite sure why the thought of this bothered him so. And truly, it did. He'd glanced down to find that the knuckles of his hand had turned white from gripping his glass so hard.

Edward suddenly decided that he wouldn't be going home immediately after all. He tried to tell himself that it was because he still needed to puzzle out Bella's motives and behavior, and some quiet observation from the bar would be good for that. But in truth, he was… well, _concerned_ about her. Sure, she frustrated the hell out of him. So much so sometimes that he wanted to give her that right good smack on the ass and shake some sense into her, for she certainly didn't have that much to be working at a place like this.

But he still cared.

Maybe he'd stay around a little while longer after all… just to make sure she would be okay getting home.

And when he sat in his car two hours later watching Bella exit the doors of _Indulgences_, dressed in the same plain clothes he'd noticed her wearing out of the house earlier that evening, Edward felt the urge to roll down his window and call out to her. It was late, so late that it was early and the thought of her travelling in these dark streets in such a shady part of town bothered him. He should give her a lift.

But before he could do that, Bella had stepped into a waiting cab and drove off.

Edward was left with no choice but to drive carefully behind the taxicab, ensuring that it took her safely home.

* * *

**If Bella knew that Edward was watching her do you think she would she think it was creepy or sweet?**

**Thoughts so far?**


	10. Chapter 10

Bella recalled the first time she had been on a stage to dance in front of strangers. She'd been nineteen, she was young, naïve and desperate. It was her last chance or else she was most likely going to die in a ditch by the time she turned twenty.

It took her two nights before she could take off all her clothes, before she could let strangers see her naked skin. The loud music made the stage vibrate, the drumming base pulsing through the wooden boards of the stage, coupled with her nerves, would shake her legs and force all coherent thought from her brain, which in hindsight, was probably a good thing.

The first time Bella stood on a stage, she couldn't dance for shit. She copied a couple of the moves that some of the other girls had done, feigned confidence, spun around the pole a couple of times but she made no tips.

As she dipped lower, using the pole to keep her upright, her eyes would sometimes meet those of the men staring at her, watching her. Some smiled, some smirked… But mostly they just stared.

The first time she removed her top, she'd done it with trembling fingers, her breath was trapped in her lungs and as the fabric dropped to the stage Bella had waited, expecting to hear the cries of pure outrage that some pathetic little girl would try and attempt to woo their lustful affections with her tits. She'd felt pathetic.

But not cries of contempt had come, no testosterone, guttural groan of pleasure had spewed forth either. The crowd was calm and collected, almost as if nothing at all had happened. As if this was the show that they were watching the entire time. Only the name of the girl changed.

And so Bella had danced, with her eyes half closed as she tried to picture that she was in her living room instead, and that she was only dancing for the pure pleasure of finding an awesome beat to move her hips to.

Riley had been the first person that Bella had become friends with way back then. She had been lonely, sad and insecure. He'd been the first man to ever smile her way while she hadn't been half naked. He'd befriended her, had bought her drinks and had flirted with her as though he actually liked her. Riley had exposed her to a new world and he was fun, he was charming, he was funny and he was really good looking. Bella couldn't believe that a guy like him would even look twice at her, let alone want to spend time with her.

The man had been a bouncer at the time; he'd promised her that he would protect her from the guys that touched her inappropriately. He assured her that she looked amazing and that she was sure to rake in hundreds if not thousands of dollars each night. He had made her feel as though she were the most attractive girl there!

Bella had fallen for him. And she'd fallen hard. It had been something that had slowly crept up on her.

She'd never been in love before, had found men to be generally repulsive and unappealing, but only because she spent day after day removing clothing for them, and sending coy, admonishing glances their way that would warn them that they'd gone too far. Each time a man's hand slid to grip her ass, her skin would crawl, breaking out in horrendous goose bumps and sending a tremor of fear through her body but instead of recoiling she would merely dance away from their groping hands.

Bella had been the one to approach Riley. He'd recently been promoted to the role of manager of the club that meant he had his own office. Bella had closed the door behind her, locking it as she looked up at Riley between thick, fake eyelashes.

"What are you doing, Bella?" He'd asked her. Back then; she'd been naïve enough to use her real name.

"I think you know…" she murmured as she crossed the room. Bella had been nineteen at the time. She was certainly legal, but Riley had been ten years her senior and hadn't been sure if fucking a teenager was the right thing to do. It was nice to see a man who still had a semblance of morale.

She'd kissed him. Hard. And he hadn't pushed her away, well not immediately. When he finally did, Bella persisted. Her hands, found the zipper of his jeans and pulled them down, finding his cock, stroking it until he was hard. And then Riley had pushed her against the wall.

She found the sensation of his hard body pressed against him to be hot. But then he'd slapped her. Across the face.

It didn't hurt. Not at first, it shocked her more. She certainly hadn't expected it. "Why are you acting like such a little whore?" He'd hissed at her. Hurting her. He slapped her again and then kissed her. Not knowing what to say or do, she kissed him back.

And then he was pushing her across the room, bending her over the table of his office desk and yanking her underpants down so that they were around her thighs. She hadn't even had time to process what was happening when he was inside of her.

And she found herself enjoying it. He fucked her like he hated her and when he was done, he rubbed her back, stroked her cheek in a silent apology as though he loved her. And Bella craved more.

From there things spiraled out of control.

One year later, with an addiction to an opiate drug, no money and nothing to call her own. Bella decided that enough was enough and that if she didn't want to fall deeper into this trap then she needed to get out.

Riley gave her the money she needed, even after she already owed him so much. He told her to get out, make something of herself and that he'd find her again in the future.

And he'd kept his word.

Five years later, Riley had found Bella. A little too easily as well, he'd shown up on the doorstep of her apartment demanding the money that she owed him. And it was certainly more than the ten grand that he'd initially lent her. _"Interest._" He'd said after dropping the bombshell that she owed him fifty grand and that she had eight months to pay it back or else he would pay for someone to kidnap her, kill her and toss her body in the bay.

When put like that, Bella had found it easy to walk back down that path again that led to her removing her clothes and dancing in front of strangers.

But she wasn't going back to a world of drugs. And she wasn't going to give sexual favors. Not this time. Bella might have returned to her past, but she wasn't going to stay there.

She'd done her very best to keep her secret from her friends. Rosalie and Alice and mostly everyone at the magazine that she worked for stayed clear of strip clubs and even still, Bella was very careful. If anyone walked in that she was familiar with, she'd avoid them. The club was big enough that it afforded that luxury.

Except she hadn't expected Edward to walk in and recognize her. Edward must have stuck to the shadows upon first seeing her, because she herself had never seen him, the realization was disconcerting. Who else had recognized her?

Bella had purchase a blonde wig to wear in replacement of her own hair. When Clara had questioned it, she'd shrugged and said that it was time for a change. She wanted to be a blonde.

She'd only seen him once during the week after meeting him at the club. Bella had done her very best to avoid him at all costs, she'd checked the hallway outside of their apartments after leaving each time to ensure that he wasn't standing out there.

The one time that she had seen him, she'd been with Rosalie and Alice, which meant that Edward hadn't had an opportunity to confront her about her night time job, again. He'd talked pleasantly with Rosalie and Alice. Bella had refused to make eye contact with him.

"What's your problem with him?" Alice had asked. "He's really nice!" Bella had snorted. "The only nice thing about Edward is watching him walk away."

"He does have a nice ass,"Rosalie had conceded.

"That's not what I meant." Bella frowned, turned her head and looked away.

Her friends had dropped the issue of Edward after that and they'd carried on doing and talking about what they normally talked about. Work, fashion, Emmett and Jasper.

Friday night had rolled around and Bella was getting ready for another night at the club. She wondered briefly if Edward would pay her another visit. She knew he was off, he shared the same shift as both Emmett and Jasper, and Alice had mentioned that she was going out to spend time with her new boyfriend. And so that meant that Edward wasn't working his shift at the fire station.

"What are you looking for, Bella?" She'd admonished herself as she picked up her bag and left her bedroom. It would be better if Edward wasn't there.

Rosalie and Alice had already gone out and so she had no one to lie to about where she was going, for which Bella was grateful.

* * *

**Thanks for the helpful people that pointed out a few errors. I'm Australian and so when I write, I use British spelling. I usually go through each chapter and check for that sort of thing, but I rushed when I put this chapter up. **

**Please review and let me know what you're thinking of the story! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

_It's sweet that you care, it really is… But I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. I've got my reasons for doing this and you're just going to have to respect that._

Bella's words echoed in Edward's mind as he raised his glass to his lips. It was nearly midnight and he was once again seated at the back of _Indulgences, _waiting for the time to pass before the only girl he'd come to see that night took the stage to perform.

In the week that had passed, Edward thought about what he'd learnt from their last meeting. He didn't believe that she was here to have a good time. He doubted that anybody grew up with the desire to be a stripper; certainly not the kinds that worked at a seedy place such as this one. High-class escorts were of a different thing entirely. But Bella was not one of those, and Edward believed that her reasons for working here were of much darker matter. She had said that she needed the money. But money for what? His brow furrowed as he turned it over in his mind. And when he had asked if she was being forced to work here, she'd dodged his question entirely.

Perhaps if she had stared at him incredulously… if she had laughed it off… Edward would have been more inclined to believe that she really was just doing this as a means of side income. But as it were, her failure to do so had only made him more concerned that that was not the case. Bella was in trouble. And he was concerned. Edward tried to reason himself through it. Was it just a general sense of over protectiveness kicking in? Had it been… say, Alice or Rosalie in Bella's place, would this bother him as much?

_Yes_, he thought instinctively. _Yes, it would_.

It didn't matter if it was Bella or Rosalie or Alice, it could be any nameless woman on the street, but if she was in trouble and he was in the position to help her, he would. Regardless of how little she thought of him, he did care about Bella. Did she drive him absolutely crazy and stir up the constant urge to strangle her every now and then? Definitely. But while he teased, taunted, mocked and fought with her, at the end of the day, he still cared about her. He didn't want her to get hurt. _And working in a place like this…_ his eyes sobered as he glanced around his surroundings… he was afraid that getting hurt was a very real and distinct possibility.

The ice in his glass clinked together as Edward sat it back down on the table, turning abruptly as the speaker announced Bella's name… or rather,_ Isa's_. He blinked as she stepped out under the bright lights of the stage, not because of the schoolgirl get-up she was wearing – although that certainly was enough to make his cock twitch in his pants – but because of her hair. It was blonde.

He frowned and found himself hoping that it was only just a wig, and not some new fangled notion that she'd gotten into her head to dye her naturally beautiful brown hair blonde.

Bella watched as Candy, a young, barely turned eighteen girl, picked up her clothes and scurried off the stage, nearly tripping in her haste to get off of there. Bella's lips twitched, wanting to frown. She had no idea but figured that something may have just happened while Candy had been on stage. Something for Bella herself to be wary of.

She patted down the sides of her extremely short skirt as she took to the stage. She was wearing a white shirt that tied around her body, right beneath her breasts. The shirt exposed the majority of her stomach, the skirt leaving her long legs bare except for what the white, knee-high socks. Her now brown hair was plaited into two pigtails that were tied with cute, red ribbons.

Bella liked the look. It was a favorite of hers; it was also a favorite of her clients who loved the change up from overtly sexy to something that was pretending to be a little more demure. The charade of innocence, virginity and naivety was definitely enough to get most guys off.

Tyler's voice broke out over the speaker, announcing her. "This little sweetheart might look innocent, but more often than not she's found serving detention. She's a very naughty school girl, let's hear it for Isa!"

As she climbed the stairs and walked down the stage swaying, her hips and smiling demurely and sweetly at the crowd while her eyes swept over the crowd sitting in Pervert's Row, looking for Edward. It was difficult to see past the first row, the lights that flashed across the stage were bright and didn't expose what lay hidden in the dark.

She began her routine as she wondered if he had even come tonight. Was he so fed up with her that he'd stayed at home? She hoped not… No. She hoped he _had_ stayed at home. It would be better for both of them if he didn't interfere with this.

Bella couldn't make up her mind what she wanted.

Her fingers slid over the pole as she twirled around it, lifting her body higher on the pole, doing fantastic tricks that most of the girls in the club envied her for. Bella might hate stripping, but she loved pole dancing.

She found a couple of guys willing to tip her well and danced for them, removing her costume bit by bit until she was left in her tiny, black g-string and bra. Which, by the end of the second song she'd removed both.

The men were tipping her well tonight. Bella had already received over a hundred dollars in tips before the last sixty seconds of the song was occurring. She bent at the waist as she picked up another tip knowing what it would expose, but she was making money and if doing this meant she'd make more, then that would be what she'd do.

As she straightened up again, Bella caught the face of someone familiar. Edward. Bella's heart rate spiked as a thrill ran through her.

_He came!_ She realized she was elated. Although she didn't know why, she'd ignored him earlier in the week for a reason. Why was she happy that Edward had come?

His eyes were on hers, taking in her body as Bella danced and so she did. She danced, the rest of the men in the room disappearing in her mind as she danced solely for Edward. Her hands wrapped around the pole and she lifted herself again, her legs spinning around, then she was upside down, she spread her legs for a small amount of time before spinning back.

The men sitting in the front row had their mouths opened in wonder but Bella didn't even see them. Now that she'd spotted Edward, she couldn't take her eyes off of the dark haired man staring with brooding eyes up at her.

The last notes of the song died and Bella moved to pick up her clothes, as she took the stairs she spotted Britney talking with Edward. She was sitting in his lap! A dark look crossed Bella's face and she found herself crossing the room, despite the fact that she was still naked and was clutching her clothes in her hands.

* * *

**Uh oh. Dat girl gon be bitchslapped! **


	12. Chapter 12

"_Come on handsome… one song."_ The young woman's breath tickled his ear as she wiggled in his lap in a move that was clearly meant to be seductive. Edward mustered a smile as he rested his hands on her hips and tried to ease her off of him.

"Thank you, but I'm good," he said politely.

Edward had been far too transfixed by Bella's performance to notice the eager look in one of the dancers eyes as she caught sight of him and had high-tailed over to him by the time the dance was over to entice him with her own private dance. Most of the strippers here conceded in the past when Edward had thanked them but brushed their offers aside. But this one here was a persistent little devil and he was finding that he was quickly running out of ways to tell her no politely.

"_I'll make it worth your while."_ She promised him, her fingers trailing down his chest and just brushing her fingertips against the zipper of his pants as she gave him a coy smile.

"Thank you, but really, no." Edward tried again. "As it is, I'm—" he suddenly spotted Bella, naked, stalking over to them her clothes clutched to her chest in what appeared to be a half-hearted attempt at modesty. Why did she look angry? But he didn't have time to mull over that; he knew an opportunity when he saw one and he intended to seize it.

"I'm taken! Yes." He gestured to Bella who had suddenly stopped before them, a touch of confusion being mixed in with her initial anger. "B- Isa promised me a dance earlier this evening and I intend to collect."

When Edward glanced over at Bella again, the full extent of her appearance hit him and he found his own face darkening. "What are you wearing?" he demanded. Or rather it should have been 'What _aren't_ you wearing?' The leering stares of the patrons around them were obvious and he found himself irked that she hadn't thought to get herself decently clothed before she joined them outside like this. Of course, he didn't seem to notice the full extent of the irony of his thoughts. How modest could a stripper working at a strip club look? And how was her nudity any different down here than up on the stage?

Bella looked down at herself. She was pretty sure she wasn't wearing anything… She had to refrain herself from rolling her eyes. Instead she looked up at Edward, and deadpanned. "Oh my God, it's like one of those dreams where you go to work and then everyone's staring at you and you look down at your naked!" She opened her mouth in mock horror.

He firmly hoisted the stripper off his lap and grabbed Bella by the arm. "Changing room. Now." He said tersely.

"I'm a stripper Edward; it's my job to not wear clothes." She told him as they walked down the hallway toward the back. The bouncer hadn't been there to prevent Edward from entering the back stage areas, and the change rooms were deserted of all girls, which meant they were alone. Edward dropped his hand from her arm.

"Why do I have to put my clothes back on when I'll just have to take them off again?" Bella turned so that she was looking up at Edward, an eyebrow arched defiantly..

"Because I say so," he said exasperated. Edward still had his arm on her and allowed his eyes to briefly slip down her curves before he blanched at his own actions and turned away.

"Get dressed, Bella." Edward sighed.

A tremor of excitement passed through her as she saw Edward's eyes flicker down her body but she scowled unhappily when he looked away, as though disinterested.

"You're not my father." Bella's back stiffened. "You can't tell me what to do."

He rolled his eyes as he strode for the door. The last thing he wanted was to be caught in the girls' dressing rooms. "I'm not telling you to join a convent. Just put something on. Jesus, it's not that hard." He scowled.

Once Edward had left the room, Bella let out a deep breath. He was so goddamn infuriating. Of course, Bella had intended to put her clothes back on; after all when someone paid her to dance for them, they expected the strip tease. It was all a part of the act! But she hadn't liked the outrage that had crossed Edward's face when he'd spotted her fresh off the stage, standing there with nothing on except for the white, knee-high socks and her six-inch, black, patent leather stiletto shoes.

She slipped the clothes back on, tied the black tie around her neck and quickly checked her appearance in the mirror. Her wig was still on, her hair in pigtails. The good thing about wearing a wig was that she didn't have to worry so much about it falling out-of-place.

Happy with her appearance, Bella exited the hallway only to find that Edward had in fact waited for her. "You've seen me take my clothes off a thousand times, you could have waited in there with me."

Edward's lips turned down in a frown but he did not say anything.

She regarded him curiously, wondering what it was he wanted. After a small pause she cocked an eyebrow. "So did you want a dance or are you just here to look pretty?"

* * *

**I think he's there to look pretty. He does a very good job at it, so why stop?**

**If you review I will post a longer chapter next time... Okay, I'll post a longer chapter if you review or not but I do love to hear what you're thinking about the story! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**A longer one for you this time!**

* * *

It was strange for him seeing her like this in her costume when only earlier that morning he'd seen her as her usual Bella self. With her blonde wig, the differences between the two persons were even more distinct.

He hesitated when it came to her question. Did he want a dance? It was a difficult question. One part of him, the male part, was an instinctive hell yes. Of course he did! But the other part, the better part, balked at the idea of subjecting her to dancing for him like that.

_But better you than any of the other pigs out there, right?_ A voice whispered in his head. If Bella was dancing for him, she wouldn't be able to dance for them… and Edward wouldn't hurt her. Hell, he wouldn't even touch her… Unless she said so. But certainly not in the way other men would.

"Yes." He said finally. "Thirty minutes. That is… if you don't mind." Edward said after a pause, his brow furrowing slightly as he realized how his request might have sounded to her.

Bella's pulse started beating faster as Edward conceded to a dance. She tried to tell herself it was the idea of getting the money that excited her, but truthfully she was more excited to be in a room with Edward, dancing for him… Having him watch her.

Maybe this time he'd touch her.

"Of course I don't mind," Bella said, she moved closer and took Edward's hand in hers, smiled up at him and then turned so that he could follow her. The room they'd used last time was taken by someone else, but a smaller room at the very back of the club wasn't occupied and so Bella chose to take him there.

"Why don't you have a seat," Bella gestured to the leather chaise lounge while she turned her attention to the stereo system hooked up. She selected a series of songs, with slow, seductive beats.

Bella had a goal in mind. She had a full thirty minutes, more than enough time to bring a guy to the brink and over it.

"Do you like my costume?" Bella asked as she turned back toward him, the music now pumping through the speakers.

Edward settled back against the leather seat as Bella busied herself with the music. This was quickly turning into a familiar scene and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

He paused, taking his time to answer her question. For the first time since she'd gotten dressed, Edward allowed himself to really look at Bella. His grey eyes moved from the ends of her blonde pigtails which rested just above her breasts to the soft, smooth skin of her taut stomach exposed by her white shirt and further down to the extremely short skirt that he knew would have easily gotten her sent to detention if she'd been in school. He remembered his own teenage days at his Catholic college where the girls had made a game about how short they could hem their skirts up before they got into trouble.

"Certainly brings back a lot of memories." Edward said dryly. But seeing the way her face seemed to falter slightly, he hesitated and amended, "I do like it. Although… I could think of a few things that would make it more improved."

He didn't understand why he had tried to save Bella's feelings. It was hardly like she cared about what he actually thought. She had probably used the same line on hundreds of guys.

Bella had picked the outfit with Edward in mind when she'd placed it in her bag. She'd wondered if he'd appreciate it. Had even fantasized about them being in this particular situation again and hearing him talk about how amazing she looked. She _wanted_ Edward to like her costume.

Bella had thought she looked good but when Edward made a comment on things that could be improved on… Well, her smile faltered. She swallowed and tried to keep the coy smile on her face and not show how much his comment stung.

"Is that so?" She asked as she lowered herself into his lap, straddling his legs and running her fingers lightly over his arms. "Can you tell me of these improvements you would make?"

Despite himself, Edward found himself watching the way the hem of Bella's indecently short skirt rose up on her thighs and gave him just the quickest glimpse of the flash of flimsy white material between her legs. He closed his eyes in silent rebuke and before fixing his gaze on Bella's face.

He shook his head at the coy smile that played on the corners of her lips. "The socks." Edward said finally, one hand reaching down to just skim along her knees where the white socks ended. "I'm more of a thigh highs man." His tone was light.

"Not that you don't wear them extremely well." He added, his grey eyes softening slightly. "I just feel a little… perverse." Edward's lips quirked up in a wry half-smile, "I'm too old to be lusting after school girls."

"Well, lucky for you… I'm older than eighteen." Bella began to move her hips in time to the beat over Edward's body.

There was a low chuckle. "Lucky me." he conceded.

Fortunately, his comment about her outfit was relatively easy to hear. He had even said that she wore the socks well; the comment brought a smile to her lips.

As her hands went up to the black tie around her neck she began to remove it. "So what sorts of costumes do you like, Mr. Cullen?" She murmured as the tie fell off.

He watched the tie fall to the floor, trying not to let himself get carried away by her seductive words or the way she seemed to caress his name like that…

"Costumes that don't require this," Edward said instead, tugging gently on her hair. He cocked an eyebrow at her, "Did Rosalie convince you that blondes have more fun or something? It's just a wig, I hope? Nothing permanent?"

"No, it's nothing permanent." Bella's fingers went to the tip of her plait. "It's a wig… I figured, if you could recognize me so easily before I even saw you… Then I needed to make sure that it didn't happen again. Like with my boss at work or something…" She grimaced.

"Mmmmhm… doubtful. I would've recognized you anywhere." He promised, his nose twitching. "Wig or no wig."

And he found to his surprise that it was true. Edward had spent far too long staring across at her face during their many arguments to not recognize her when he saw her. Bella was striking, one of a kind with a face that had no right being in a strip club.

Edward hesitated before he asked quietly, "Would it be okay if you took it off for me? In here at least?"

Edward's questions surprised her but a slow smile spread across her face and she paused in her movements as she reached up to slip her fingers under the cap of her wig. "Do you prefer brunette's?" she asked, mischief dancing in her eyes.

Edward laughed at her question, but while his eyes were light with amusement, he made no move to answer her and focused his attention instead on her fingers that were quickly unfastening the wig from her head.

She tossed the wig aside and let the brown hair that had been piled underneath the wig fall free. Edward's hands immediately went up to touch the long tendrils that fell past her breasts. "It's not too messy, is it?" She asked.

Instinctively, his hand reached out to touch one of the long curls that tumbled down and over her shoulders. While Bella's hair was normally sleek, smooth and straight, he guessed the waviness in it now was due to how she'd had to tie it up for her wig.

"No," he assured her as he glanced up to meet her hesitant hazel eyes. Edward smiled, his grey eyes softer than they'd been all night. "It's perfect."

"You know… I didn't think you were going to come tonight," Bella admitted as her hips began to rotate again. "Especially after the last time things ended… You're not here to question me a whole heap again, are you?" Her hands massaged Edward's shoulders from the front. "Because I have a few better things in mind that we could do to pass the time…"

"I'm not." He agreed. His nose twitched with amusement. "I'm not here to interrogate you tonight."

And he wasn't. He had devised an entirely new plan of attack, which he thought might work better. Bella's guard seemed to relax slightly when she was dancing and he was going to take advantage of that. Instead of trying to sit her down and force it out of her, Edward figured that the best tactic would be to slowly coax it out of her over time. He would talk to her casually, befriend her and make as many efforts to appease rather than unnecessarily antagonize her. Whether she confessed it to him or merely let a little detail slip from her lips, Edward would be there to hear it. She wouldn't be able to stay silent forever.

Edward's ears pricked up at the suggestive note in her voice, not quite liking the way his body reacted with tremors of pleasure that went down his spine at her husky words and the way her soft breath fanned across his cheek. "We only have 30 minutes," he pointed out lightly. "Perhaps you shouldn't get too carried away with your… _ideas_."

Although he couldn't help a twinge of curiosity. What exactly did the siren in his lap have in mind?

"I think you underestimate me, Edward." Bella lifted her hands to her white top and slowly undid the tie that held the fabric together. There were a couple of buttons there too which she also gradually undid.

"A lot can happen in thirty minutes."

She pulled the fabric apart, her eyes on Edward's face as he took her actions in. She was wearing a white, sheer bra underneath. The white to symbolize the innocence of the schoolgirl costume, but the sheer material, which did nothing to hide her pink nipples, showed the naughtier side of it.

She knew that Edward must have seen her entire outfit on the stage but he hadn't been sitting in the front row seats and so would not have had a view close up. Well, he was certainly getting that now. Bella revealed inch by inch of skin all while grinding slowly against Edward's lap.

She was only wearing the short skirt now; Edward's arms were motionless on the armrests of the chair he was sitting on although Bella could see that he was clenching his hands rather tightly. He wanted to touch her, she could tell.

And so casually, she ran her hands from his shoulders, down his arms and to those clenched fists and moved them so that they were now resting on her hips. She leaned forward, her lips brushing over his ear. "You can touch me, Edward. I won't tell anyone."

* * *

**This spells trouble. I don't think Edward is gonna stand a chance, do you?**


	14. Chapter 14

Edward felt his breath leave him as Bella slowly took off her top for him. He could see the pink buds of her breasts through the scandalously transparent material of her bra, which really left nothing to the imagination and found the urge in him rise up to touch her… to taste her… to rub his stubble against them like before if only to temporarily mark her as his.

"That's a dangerous suggestion, sweetheart." Edward murmured as his thumbs stroked the soft curve of her hips. His eyes had darkened with want as he gazed back at Bella's face. She had no idea how long he'd been wanting to touch her for the past four months… how long he'd ached to hold him in his arms, to crush her to him, to take her fast and hard against a wall and then again sweetly and slowly in his bed. She didn't know that it was Edward's constant attempts to anger her, to push her away, which kept him from pulling her to him and never letting go.

"Little girls that play with fire get their fingers burnt."

But that didn't stop Edward's thumbs from halting the slow circles he was tracing over her skin.

"You'd know all about getting your fingers burnt then, wouldn't you," Bella said, referring to Edward's job as a fire fighter. She moved away from Edward, standing up again to dance in front of him, moving and swaying her body in time to the sultry beat, running her fingers through her hair and over her body. She played with her breasts for a few seconds before moving lower, across her stomach and to the little fastener of her skirt which, in moments, was undone and also falling to the floor.

This left Bella in the completely see through, sheer panties of her white g-string, along with the white knee high socks and he black, patent leather shoes.

She turned around to expose her back side and bent down touching the floor before straightening again. She peered over her shoulder to glance at Edward who was staring at her legs, a sight that made the smile on her face grow.

Edward caught her eye and shook his head to clear it. "Come here." His voice was husky as he invited her back to his lap.

Bella dropped her hands away from the material of her underwear where she had been toying with and walked back a step so that she was once again between Edward's legs, except this time she wasn't facing him. She lowered herself into his lap, her hands placing themselves on his thighs to keep her supported. From there, she began to move her hips, rotating, gyrating against Edward's hardening member that Bella could feel on the cheeks of her ass.

"Tell me what you like," she breathed, her hands reaching up to entwine themselves around Edward's head, her fingers pulling gently at his hair, and her neck arching so that she could whisper in his ear.

Edward didn't trust himself to speak. Instead, he breathed in the scent of her hair – citrusy like her perfume that brought to mind the summer time. With every brush of Bella's body, Edward felt himself grow, the full extent of his arousal evident from the hardening bulge in his pants.

"Bella." He hissed as those hands of hers reached up to tug his hair down, her lips grazing his ear and the way she caressed his name going straight to his groin.

"Do you want me?" She asked, purring and feeling so desperate to hear him tell her yes. She didn't know what she'd do if Edward told her out loud that he wanted her, the fact that she was rubbing herself against his hardened cock should have been evidence enough to her that he did in fact want her.

Hearing Edward say it, she could pretend for thirty minutes that he wanted more. Which was why, when he groaned, a lust filled moan, Bella brought Edward's hands to her hips for him to hold onto. A way for him to guide her on top of her, for her to know at exactly what speed to go to bring him to the brink. God, how she wanted to get him there.

Edward groaned softly, slipping one of his hands under her to cup her breasts while the other was guided to her hips, encouraging him if you will, to take free reign of her. He arched his hips instinctively as she continued to rub over his hard crotch… _oh God… if she kept this up he might just…_

He clenched his jaw, his grip on her hips tightening. "Bella. Please." He managed, his expression one of a man exquisitely torn between lust and reason.

Bella's breath hitched in her throat as his hand went upward to cup her breast. Yes! Her eyes clenched shut as she felt her nipples pucker quickly under his fingers. A small moan of pleasure left her lips.

But she needed more. More friction. She stood back up with the pretense of teasing Edward, loving the groan of displeasure Edward emitted when she left his body. They still had fifteen minutes of time left together and it would be all over if he came there and then.

"Please what, Edward?" She asked her voice low and sultry but her eyes filled with triumphant mischief. He might not have said it, in fact he'd ignored her question altogether, but Bella could see it in the way his hungry eyes took her naked body in. He wanted her.

She stepped closer; Edward could lean forward, wrap his arms around her body and pull her to him if he wanted to. The idea thrilled her a little bit. "Do you want me?" She asked again. "If you want me then, maybe you should take me…"

* * *

**Another cliffhanger... See you tomorrow!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Holy moly. I woke up this morning to an influx of reviews! Thank you so much to Tarbecca from adifferentforest for the fic recommendation. And thank you to all my new readers! This one is a bit shorter, but I thought I'd post it sooner than planned to thank you all. :)**

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Edward burned with want. His green eyes were dark black as he stared across the space that separated him and Bella, tortured by his own desire for her and the semblance of control he was fighting to keep. But it wasn't just his lust for Bella that he was struggling with, but rather his desire to _have_ her, to _keep_ her. He wanted more than just her body, he wanted her mind, her heart, everything that made her Bella – and he was terrified of the idea that should he give into her now, he might never get that chance again.

Of course Edward wanted her. But she would never know just how much.

If he were a better person, he would have zipped his jeans up right then and left the room. He was in over his head now and letting Bella drive him to the brink like this would only spell trouble for the both of them.

But he was also acutely aware that if he pushed her away now, she would never want to be around him again. She would think, mistakenly, that he didn't like her, that he wasn't attracted to her or some bullshit like that, and ride away on that high horse of hers, wearing her pride close like a cloak about her shoulders.

And if she pushed him away, how would Edward ever be able to help her?

All this flashed through his mind, as Bella stood there breathless just a few inches away from his grasp. All he needed to do was reach out for her and concede defeat. Before he could question himself, Edward leant forward and tugged her towards him, his hard cock shifting in his pants so that the hot tip of it was pressed against his stomach, just peeking over his jeans.

One hand reached up to tangle itself in Bella's long, dark hair as the other grasped her hip, pulling her right on top of him. "I do want you." Edward said in a low voice, his grey eyes searching her face and trying to get her to understand the dilemma he was in. "I want you more than I should. More than what's right."

Bella's breath rushed from her lungs as Edward pulled her close, a dull, throbbing ache pulsed between her thighs as Edward's stiff, hard cock brushed against her clit. Her lips went to the side of his neck to stifle her cries. This was supposed to be about him, Edward was paying her, and she needed to remember that.

She brought her head back up as her body twisted and moved over his stiffness, her back arched and with two hands she held onto Edward's head as she brought her breasts to his face, her nipples teasing his lips.

"Taste me," she begged.

It didn't take more than that for Edward to oblige.

He lowered his head to capture one nipple in his mouth, his tongue teasing the bud with gentle flicks before starting to suck on them. His thumb ached to stroke the heat between her legs, imagining the way the moans that fell from her mouth now would intensify as she bucked beneath him.

"You taste so good, Bella." Edward murmured, stifling his own groan as he felt her warm body brush against the tip of his throbbing cock. At his words, she leaned back harder into him and continued rocking in his lap. If she kept this up, it wouldn't be long before he came. He could feel the tension mounting up in him, his breaths getting ragged. "Bella." He managed.

Bella wanted nothing more than to remove the clothing barriers between them and climb on top of Edward and have him fill her, she knew it would feel so much better than this. But she refused to do such a thing here, even if it was with Edward. She wouldn't let someone that was paying her also have sex with her. As desperate as Bella was, she wasn't and would never prostitute herself.

"Do you like that?" She whispered again, her own breaths becoming somewhat ragged as Edward stimulated both her nipples and the grinding of his hardness pressed against her clit bringing her even closer to an impending orgasm.

She wanted to. She wanted to come with Edward but she wouldn't. She couldn't. Not here. Not like this.

Edward groaned and suddenly stiffened, having the hindsight to quickly pull Bella slightly off of him before he came in short spurts.

"Shit." He swore as the stickiness from his cum slid down his stomach but he could hardly have caught in his hand when his grip on Bella was what kept her from falling off. In all his years, this had never happened from just a lap dance before. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?" he turned his anxious eyes to Bella.

Bella was used to the affects her lap dances had on men. She'd kept count of the many men that had paid for her services and in the four months she'd been there so far, Edward was the one hundred and fifty fourth man she'd taken back here (not including the seven different women she'd danced for). He was also the sixty-second man she'd brought to orgasm.

The sight of Edward coming undone because of her turned her on like no one ever had before. She'd never come so close to reaching an orgasm of her own when dancing for someone like this.

She breathed hard and heavy, her cheeks were flushed and she quickly reached over to the side to grab a box of tissues and pulled a couple out before handing them to Edward, a small smirk on her lips as she did so.

"I'm fine… How are you?"

* * *

**Well at least Edward got a happy ending? **


	16. Chapter 16

Edward's breaths were shallow, as he tried to catch his breath. His body felt spent. He couldn't remember coming this hard from something other than full-on sex. He'd certainly never allowed the lap dances he'd gotten to ever progress far enough to push him over the edge. If there was anything Edward prized, it was his self-control.

But like with all things, Bella seemed to get the better of him.

"Try not to look too pleased. You look like a cat that's eaten a canary." Edward's tone was dry even as he gratefully accepted the handful of tissues that she had gotten up to find and passed over to him; he did his best to clean himself up.

His green eyes sobered as his eyes passed over Bella's naked body to make sure he hadn't gotten any on her.

Bella's smug smile grew into sheepish one as she tossed her hair over her shoulder. She _felt_ like the cat that had eaten a canary. That was for certain.

"So…" Bella led. "Seeing as we ended the session a little early, that'll be one-twenty." Bella felt dirty as she waited for Edward to hand over the money he'd promised her. She hated that this is what it all came down to. Trading money for pleasure. But she needed it. Every minute counted in this job. Especially if she was working for it.

The corners of his mouth quirked up in a wry smile at the way she'd hinted at how early they'd finish. "Don't let this one-off fool you." He teased her. "The women I take to bed are usually exhausted by the time I'm through with them."

"Is that so?" She murmured, most guys tended to try and make up for how quickly they came when Bella was with them. They always seemed to think it was a deficiency with them, never considering that maybe it was because she was actually good at her job. But she still smiled and allowed herself to fantasize what it'd be like to be with Edward, rolling between his sheets as he fucked her. But she quickly dismissed the thoughts. She was never going to sleep with Edward; there was no point in thinking about it.

He stood and dug his hand into the pocket of his jeans to pull his wallet out. He pressed the bills into Bella's hand. She had said only one hundred and twenty, but he had slipped in a few more bills figuring it was the least he could do considering her… unexpected finale.

Her eyes flickered downward as she accepted the money; she couldn't quite look Edward in the eye. His eyebrows rose when she refused to meet his eyes. Had he said something wrong? He gently nudged her chin up with his hand as he mused, "I daresay this is the first time I've actually seen you looking shy, Bella. It becomes you." Edward paused. "But you're unlike anyone I've ever met." The back of his hand brushed the flushed apple of Bella's cheek in a surprisingly tender (and perhaps even a touch wistful) gesture.

In a sudden change of topic he asked, "How are you getting home tonight?"

"I'll catch a cab." Bella replied. "My car… It's out of commission at the moment."

If by out of commission she meant that she'd sold it for half of the price it was worth as a way of coming up with some money, then yes. It was definitely out of commission.

He frowned. So he was right. That was how Bella usually got home from the club on the weekends even when he hadn't been there to see her. She took a cab. It was an idea that didn't settle well with Edward who knew better than anyone how dangerous it could be travelling through this part of town in broad daylight or early evening… let alone the early hours of the morning.

"Let me take you home." He offered. Before Bella could object, he added, "We live in the same place, Bella. You know… love thy neighbour?"

When that attempt at humour didn't seem to work, Edward sobered. "Look… I promise I'm not trying to pull anything funny." His green eyes were serious. "I'm just concerned. And it's the least I can do while your car is er… out of commission."

Bella had opened her mouth to tell him no, that she was alright. But he actually seemed to genuinely want to make sure that she got home okay and he was right… He did live right next door to her. "I won't be finishing for another couple of hours…" she said, expecting him to balk at the idea of another late night. But he shrugged his shoulders as though this news meant nothing. She got dressed as they spoke; she found it somewhat awkward just standing there naked, even after everything they'd just done. There were some parts of her job she would never get used to.

"Well… As long as you're sure. Then okay. I'll come find you when I'm done?"

"Sounds good." Edward said. He stepped forward, his hands on her arms, and gave her a kiss on the forehead, much like he had the previous week but this time, instead of making her feel like a child, his kiss made her feel almost cared for. Like he actually liked her. An uneasy sensation settled in her stomach as he stepped back and slipped out the door, leaving Bella to finish getting changed.

The rest of the night blurred by, much like it had the previous week. Bella made a little under a thousand dollars. She knocked on the door of Riley's office with her little bundle in her hand and gave him a tight, polite smile.

"_Shut the door behind you,"_ Riley requested of her.

"I can't stay," Bella said, her mind flickered to Edward who was waiting for her in the main club section for her. "Someone's waiting for me."

Riley's eyes narrowed. "Who? A boyfriend?" Riley laughed cruelly as he looked Bella up and down. She could read his expression; he was wondering who the hell would ever want to date her.

"No. A friend."

"Well then, I'm sure they wouldn't mind waiting just a couple of minutes."

Bella's back stiffened at the cold tone in his voice as he crossed the room at a leisurely pace.

"While I'm sure that's all it would take… It's late, and I don't want to keep him waiting…" She arched an eyebrow defiantly and handed over the bills she'd earned that night. She'd added another few from her own wallet to make the stash an even one thousand. Her debt was fifty thousand dollars, she'd worked out in the beginning that if she paid an even one thousand dollars every night she worked than she would only have to work fifty shifts.

So far, she'd worked thirty-two. She well and truly had passed the half way mark. She was nearly there. With the money she'd gotten back from selling her car, she now only had thirteen more shifts to go.

In less than two months she'd be free again. She could put this all behind her.

Riley's anger flashed in his eyes and Bella took a step back. She should have known better than to antagonize him. A hand struck out and smacked her hard across the face.

"That's for your smart ass comment. You're lucky I don't do worse to you. Now, get the fuck out of here you little slut!" Riley pushed her away and she stumbled backward clutching at her face. "And you should know…" He snarled as Bella found the door. "Tomorrow night, I want double or you'll be paying me what you owe with that snarky little mouth of yours."

Bella tripped as she hastily backed out into the hallway, the wooden door slamming harshly in her face but she breathed a sigh of relief to see it. She realized, Riley could have done much worse.

She didn't even know what she was doing until she walked back into the main club area and spotted Edward waiting patiently at a table, the lights were on, and he was chatting politely to one of the topless waitresses who was currently clothed.

Bella had kept her eye on Edward for most of the night; she hadn't wanted to stray too far from him. She'd had to leave occasionally when someone paid her for a lap dance, but she'd always return and look around to find out where he was.

His eyes hadn't wondered too far from her either and she'd also noted with some satisfaction that he barely paid any attention to any of the other girls who came and chatted with him, trying to get him to buy dances from them. They'd give up after not too long, seeing that he was a hopeless cause.

She didn't know the name of the waitress that was chatting with him now, only that she was new. Bella walked over, a feeling of uneasiness… And something also felt remarkably like jealously (except that it wasn't, it couldn't be) settle over her. "Hey, I'm ready to go now…" She bit nervously at her lip. Edward glanced up at her, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. Her cheek still stung somewhat and she realized hastily that maybe it was red._ You should have waited_, Bella admonished herself silently. She ducked her head, her hair falling forward to cover her face up.

* * *

**Yeah. Riley is a right old prick.**


	17. Chapter 17

While waiting for Bella to finish up, Edward lingered at the table he'd occupied for most of the night his company taking up his time by a young waitress. Her name was Bree; she had noticed him several times before and was curious now as to why he had stayed back so late after hours. But he had smiled at her and explained without going too much into detail that he was simply waiting for a friend.

"_Your girlfriend?"_ she had asked, glancing around the bar where a few other waitresses were finishing up for the night.

The corner of his mouth quirked up into a little half smile before he corrected her, "No. Just a good friend of mine. In fact, there she is now."

Edward spotted Bella walking towards them from the backrooms of the club. His face had begun to soften at her arrival when he noted the almost anxious look on her face, underscored by the way she bit down on her bottom lip. He frowned, his brow furrowing, as he looked her over. What was wrong?

"Yeah… okay. Let's go." He said slowly as he rose to his feet. She seemed unusually eager to get out of the strip club and home. Edward nodded his head to Bree, "It was nice meeting you. Drive home safely." He said before turning to gesture to the bag that hung from Bella's shoulder, wanting to take it from her.

"Is everything okay?" Edward asked as they started to walk outside. The combination of the dark and the way Bella's long curtain of hair fell forward somewhat obscured his view of her face that made it hard for him to read her. And yet, he did feel like something was off with her. Surely it wasn't because he had been talking to Bree inside? But this seemed a lot different to how Bella had acted when that earlier stripper had clambered into his lap, coaxing him for a dance. She had been angry then. She was far from angry now…

Bella allowed Edward to take the bag from her shoulder and together they walked out into the street. Edward's question startled her, although it shouldn't have. He was a fairly perceptive guy, and Bella was nowhere near as good as he was when it came to hiding her emotions.

"I-I'm fine…" She cringed as she stuttered. Edward opened the car door for her and she slid into the passenger seat of his dark Chevrolet. It was a nice car, fairly new the paint job was black. The interior was nice, Edward kept it clean and tidy and it smelled nice. It smelled a little like Edward too.

A few seconds later, and Edward was opening his side of the car to get in. He'd deposited her bag in the back of the car. In a second he'd turned the interior light on, startling Bella.

"Bella, look at me." He ordered, although the hand that reached out to tilt her face was gentle. He thought he had glimpsed a streak of pink on Bella's cheek when they'd been outside under the glow of a nearby streetlamp. Now that she was close up to him, he realised that it was just as he had suspected.

Bella's body tensed as Edward requested her to look at him. She'd hoped that by covering her face with her hair, and the darkness of the street, Edward would not have seen the red hand print that was probably beginning to turn purple with a bruise. At least it felt that way. Make up would cover it well enough, and Bella was good at applying her own make up to cover up unsightly things but she'd removed all the makeup she'd worn tonight along with her wig and her skimpy outfits. Her skin was clean and pale and Edward was staring right at her cheek. She tried to turn her head away but Edward's hand held her chin as he demanded to know who the hell had done this to her.

He breathed in sharply as his fingers brushed against the pinking outline of a hand on her cheek… the same cheek he himself had stroked only a few hours earlier. Someone had slapped Bella. _Hard_. "What happened?" Edward demanded. "Who did this to you?"

The thought of someone hurting Bella made his eyes darken and jaw clench tightly. He could taste the anger, could feel the heat of it rising up in him as he waited for Bella to give him a name, something, _anything_. So help him God, he would beat the bastard up.

Tears welled in Bella's eyes and she flinched at his words, although she knew his anger was not directed at her. She wanted to tell him. She wanted more than anything to let Edward look after her but at what cost? Riley was dangerous. Riley had threatened to kill her if she didn't get him the money she owed him or if she told anyone… She wouldn't let anyone hurt Edward just because he wanted to help her. Edward didn't deserve to be pulled into this mess.

She could have lied, she could have said she ran into the side of a door but she knew that Edward wouldn't believe her for a second. Even still, Bella had a terrible poker face.

After a long pause, as she racked her brains trying to come up with something that sounded half reasonable, that wouldn't propel Edward out of the car to strangle the person who had done this to her, she finally said, "One of the girls… I was dancing with one of her regulars. She got jealous."

Bella couldn't even look Edward in the eye; she pulled away from him, forcing his hand to let go over her.

Edward's eyes narrowed as Bella finally murmured something about one of the other girls she worked with hitting her out of jealous rage. Her words hung in the air between them. Was she telling the truth? Edward hesitated. He couldn't be sure. And yet, it seemed plausible enough… Bella had been quite incensed when of the strippers had crawled into his lap that night. He had wanted to think that it was because she didn't want to share Edward with anybody else, but perhaps that had just been his pride talking. Maybe there was some unwritten rule amongst the girls when it came to their clientele that they got possessive about.

"You're sure?" he asked again, the doubt creeping uneasily into his voice. He couldn't help thinking about the what if's… if this had been the doing of one of the gits Bella had to dance with, one of the bouncers… or even the owner of the club that she had mentioned last time. From what he'd seen of the guy, he'd thought he was quite a sketchy character. But if Bella was sure…

Edward exhaled sharply. "You girls and your catfights." He murmured with a shake of his head as he put the car into drive and pulled away neatly from the curb for the long ride home. "Please be careful next time."

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**Does he believe her? **

**Let me know what you're thinking!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A short chapter, but I will post up another one shortly to make up for it!**

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It was the next day and Bella was finishing making the final touches to her lunch; she'd also done a load of washing and had hung it out to dry on the balcony. But her mind was trapped in another world and she had been staring at the can of tuna she'd just mixed into her salad for what must have been five minutes. Her mind was occupied with the events of the night before.

Rosalie and Alice were out, it was Saturday afternoon and Bella still had a couple of hours to herself before she would have to get ready for that night. She placed the empty can of tuna in the trashcan and straightened up when she heard something.

A faint whining sound was coming from her balcony. Frowning, Bella went to investigate and saw, to her horror that she'd left the balcony door open a fraction. George, her feline friend, was an indoor cat. It was far too dangerous for the pet to live both indoors and outdoors, especially in the area that they lived in. There were too many cars, and Bella would fear that he'd get run over. She was, of course, very attached to George. But sometimes, her adventurous cat would get too curious and whenever someone left a door open accidentally, George would most likely investigate it.

Bella had roused on Alice more often than not for leaving the doors open, she felt sorry for her friend, and it wasn't Alice's fault. The girl wasn't used to having to be so diligent.

And now, Bella was cursing herself. How could she have been so distracted as to not close the door completely? Her mouth dropped in horror as she spotted George; he'd jumped to an air conditioning unit and was now whining pitifully, he couldn't get back!

"Oh George, how did you get there?" She moaned. Bella judged the distance. She could probably maneuver herself against the wall of the building if she was careful. George wasn't too far away… If she could just reach up, he could jump into her arms and she could carry him back to safety.

She looked down. They were on the second storey, if she fell…

No, she wouldn't fall. Besides, George needed her help.

Bella climbed over the railing of her balcony and clung to it as she tried to work out what her next move would be. George continued to whine.

"Stupid cat," she cooed at him. "Look what you're making me do." She kept her voice soft and soothing, not wanting to startle her cat away.

Bella had rescued George as a kitten, she herself had just finished her horrible and short career as a stripper and she'd found George half drowned and had immediately taken him to the vet. From there, she'd been given instructions on how to nurse him back to better health and George had stayed with her ever since. They'd rescued each other. George was her closest friend.

"I'm coming, I'm coming…" George continued to whine pitifully. She edged herself slowly over the narrow ledge, she had no idea why George couldn't just jump to it, he was nimble. Surely… Bella gasped as she lost her footing, her body weight shifted so that she was leaning too far backward, her arms flailed for something, anything to grab onto. She screamed as she began to fall but her hand managed to grab on to the unit that George had gotten stuck on.

Her body swung below her, the ground seemed so far away from here. She screamed again as she tried to find her grip on the unit… If she could just hoist herself up, or if she could swing her body to the ledge… She looked back down again, her face had gone pale. She didn't have the upper body strength to lift herself up from here. George was sniffing at her fingertips, as though oblivious to his owner's trouble.

"Help!" She yelled out… But she doubted anyone could hear her. The roar of the traffic could very well be drowning out any noise she made and a main street was on the opposite side of the apartment block.

Bella looked down, beginning to accept her fate. At least she wouldn't ever have to strip again. She wondered if she would feel much pain in death. A sense of satisfaction overcame her that Riley would not be the one to bring her this. At least this could be something she could keep for herself.

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**Bad Bella! Don't think like that! **


	19. Chapter 19

**New chapter up quickly as promised!**

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Edward had been lounging on his sofa reading one of Dan Brown's latest novels when he heard a piercing scream. He sat up immediately and glanced around him with a frown. Had he just been imagining things? But no! There it was again!

He launched himself abruptly to his feet, running towards the balcony where he was certain the sounds had been coming from. He had barely stepped outside when the sight of what he saw made the blood drain from his face.

"Bella?" Edward yelled. There was no mistaking the slender figure clinging to the other side of the air conditioning unit quite literally for dear life. What the hell was she doing…? His gaze caught the tip of a furry tail, just barely out of view from where he stood and his eyes narrowed. _That damned cat!_ "Bella, hold on! I'm coming!" he shouted, not knowing if she could hear him over the roar of the air conditioning and the loud traffic down below. But he didn't stick around to find out. He needed to get to her as fast as he could.

He flung his door open and ran down the hall to where the girls' apartment was. He banged on the door when he realised that there was probably no body home but Bella. Left with no choice, Edward turned around and placed a well-aimed kick backwards about six inches to the side of the handle and lock. It took two tries before the jamb split open and Edward was able to push his way into the house. He headed straight for the open balcony doors and peered over the edge.

"Bella! Hold on, sweetheart! Take my hand!" Edward leant over, stretching his long arm out for her to take. "It's okay, take my hand and I'll pull you up!" he coaxed her.

Someone was calling her name but she couldn't see them. She recognised their voice though, it was Edward. He was behind her, on her own balcony. How had he gotten there? But she was too afraid of her current situation to think any further of it.

Edward was telling her to take his hand. What? Where…? She peered to her right and could see his outstretched hand waiting there, ready to pull her up.

"I-I can't… I can't reach." Bella knew that if she let go of one hand from the unit that she would fall to the ground, her hands were getting slippery, she couldn't get a better grip on the unit… She was going to fall.

"I'm going to fall… I'm going to die… Oh God. Oh God." She couldn't breathe.

"Don't look down!" Edward ordered desperately as he leaned forward, straining to reach Bella. But he couldn't lean much further without threatening his own grasp. And he had to keep that because otherwise he would never be able to pull her up and over the edge. "Bella, take my hand! Trust me. I won't let you fall… just take my hand, Bella!" he promised.

_Trust me._ He was saying. Bella squeezed her eyes shut, her fingers were slipping, she was going to plunge to the ground anyway.

She took a deep breath and just as her fingers were about to slip from the unit she reached out to grab Edward's hand. He wrapped his fingers tightly around her wrist and she almost breathed a sigh of relief. He had her but she was still falling. Her head and shoulder bashed against the side of the wall and she saw stars briefly. But then, Edward was pulling her up. She didn't know how but he was.

_Grab onto the railing. _He was telling her. "What?" She blinked, trying to see straight and then realisation came back to her and she reached out with her other hand to grab a hold of the metal railing, with their combined strength, it helped Edward to bring her up and over the railing again where she collapsed against him in a heap.

"Are you okay?" Edward's voice was worried as his grey eyes frantically ran over her. His hands rubbed her arms, trying to warm her up and get some of the blood flowing back through her. Jesus, she was trembling like a leaf!

He didn't know whether to kiss her from sheer relief or scold her for her crazy action that almost got her killed. So he did alternated between the two. "You crazy girl! What were you thinking climbing onto the ledge like that?" he scolded her.

Bella's head spun, but it soon cleared up as she realized she was once again on solid ground and that Edward was clutching her. She glanced up as he reminded her of why she'd gone out on the ledge in the first place… "George…" she murmured, but she couldn't see him anymore. Where had he gone?

"Is your head okay? Did you hurt it? Let me see it."

She felt her head and could feel a small bump forming under her scalp, but she was okay… It was just a bump. Edward's fingers moved her hair to check for blood or anything… Bella didn't know what he was looking for but she felt safe in his arms and on solid ground. She tried to level her breathing while he held her. Her eyes closed and a sob burst from her chest.

She'd nearly died! And she'd come so close to accepting it. What a coward she was. If Edward had come any later, or if he hadn't been home at all she would have accepted her fate, would have let her fingers slip from the unit and fall to the ground. The concrete at the bottom of their building would have snuffed the life from her.

Another sob wracked at her.

"Crazy girl." Edward murmured, thoughtlessly pressing his lips to the back of Bella's head as he held her in his arms.

He turned reluctantly away in search for that damned cat. Edward wasn't crazy about Bella's cat.

It was all well and good that those blasted animals had nine lives and all, but when would George ever realize that Bella only had one and sure as hell couldn't be risking it for his! But after a careful survey of the ledge, Edward realized that George must have hopped back over and disappeared inside the house.

Or else fallen to his death… not that that would be completely horrible. But it would probably send Bella into a fresh fit of tears.

"It's okay. I see him." He said finally. And true enough, George's head was poking out the side of the balcony door, his black tail flicking high in the air and his head innocently cocked to the side.

Fucking cat.

"Can you stand up?" Edward asked gently as he helped her to her feet. "Come on. You should come inside. Let's lock this door."

He guided Bella to a seat on the couch where George immediately claimed ownership of her lap, seeking an apology for luring her out like that. Bella's fingers stroked at his ears with forgiveness.

A moment or two later, and Edward was handing her a cup of water to drink from.

Edward scowled down fiercely at George. Little spawn of Satan. "Shoo!" he said sternly as he gave the glass of water to Bella.

But the cat only blinked slowly up at him with those unnerving steel blue eyes of his. He had once heard Alice happily remarking on how much she loved George because his eyes reminded her of Jasper, but Edward wasn't quite sure how that was possible. He knew his best friend and he bore no resemblance whatsoever to the mini devil in disguise perched on Bella's lap.

He sank into a seat beside her and wordlessly pressed a small bag of ice into her hand for her head.

"Thanks for the water," she murmured as she took a sip. Edward then preceded to tell her about the door he'd kicked down and Bella turned her head to look wide eyed at the bit of kicked in piece of wood that was now lying in the entrance way.

She glanced at the clock on the wall and sat up straight.

"Shit," Bella swore as she looked up at the time. "I need to get ready for work." She moaned.

* * *

**Work!? And how exactly is Edward going to take that?**


	20. Chapter 20

**The last one for today...**

* * *

"_What_?" he stared at her, "You need to work? But you worked last night…" he tried to think back. He had thought Bella only worked one night on the weekends.

"You can't go to work." He insisted with a heavy frown. Edward gestured to her head where she was currently holding the ice pack up to. "You knocked your head! You almost died. You can't go to work now."

Bella stared at Edward incredulously. Of course she had to work tonight. She had to make two fucking thousand dollars. She wasn't going to have that happen by sitting on her ass at home. She shook her head. "I'm perfectly fine, my head feels fine… And I didn't die. So that's saying something."

"You say that so nonchalantly. If there's any place you should be going right now, it's to the doctor." Edward scowled as he followed her into her bedroom without thinking – not that she'd made any attempts to stop him, to be fair. He drew to a sudden halt, keeping just within a few feet of the doorway as he looked around.

It was relatively tidy with just a couple of clothes here and there. A few books sat piled on her nightstand with perfume bottles (one of them probably holding his favorite citrus scent of hers) and various cosmetic accessories. And in the far corner of the room, a guitar stood against the wall. But with the exception of those personal belongings, there was very little in the bedroom that marked this space as Bella's.

She didn't mind him being there but she wasn't about to let him try and stop her. She rifled through her things and found the costume that she'd already picked out, which was currently hanging in a black dry cleaners bag. Most of her outfits were kept in such condition, she couldn't risk Rosalie or Alice finding them and asking questions. Or worse – wanting to borrow them.

As Edward continued to look around, he realized that her bedroom backed up right against his own next door. His grey eyes flicked back to the guitar. It started to make sense now… the walls were quite thin, and not being a particularly loud person himself, Edward had often heard snatches of what happened next door. Most of the time it was just girl stuff; the murmur of Rosalie's voice punctuated by the combined sounds of Alice's easy, bright laughter and Bella's softer one. And how many times had he thought he'd heard the faint strums of a guitar melody before he'd gone to sleep? He'd always thought that that was just a hazy part of his imagination, but perhaps not. _And perhaps, _he suddenly realized, nor were the quiet sobs he'd thought he'd heard that he could now be sure was Bella.

Were you planning on coming tonight? You can give me a lift if you want. Or if you're not… I can catch a cab.

Startled from his thoughts, Edward turned to Bella. She had a black clothes bag draped over her arm as she waited for his answer. "Of course I'm coming tonight." He said, his tone implying that she was crazy for even thinking otherwise. "And no. We'll take my car," he added, daring her to argue with him on that one.

As far as he was concerned, Edward was going to drive her to and from that club on the days where he himself wasn't working. She wasn't going to get into another cab at 4 in the morning with him around!

"Okay." Bella agreed happy enough that he wasn't going to press the issue of making her see a doctor for a small bump on her head. Yes, she realized that she'd almost suffered a near fatal accident. She could have died, yes… But she hadn't. And she wasn't that hurt. And she still had a job to go to. She grabbed a t-shirt that was decidedly more modest than the one she was currently wearing, slipped out of it and threw the newer one on. She didn't want to look like a stripper in any way when travelling to work from home and always made a point to dress down. Once she was in the club she would change into her outfits.

"Oh my god!" Bella heard the cries coming from the living room. Form the sounds of it; it was Alice and Rosalie who had just come back from their trip to the grocery store. "Bella! Bella! Where are you, are you okay?"

"The door… I kind of broke it down to get in here." Edward admitted, running a hand haphazardly through his hair.

She grimaced at Edward as she realized the sight that her friends must be taking in. "I'm in here!" She called out. Edward stepped aside and into the room as Alice and Rosalie came bustling in to check on their friend.

"What the hell happened to the front door?" Rosalie proclaimed.

Bella quickly gave a run down on what had transpired in the past half an hour, including the door getting kicked down by Edward in order for him to rescue her. Edward tried to interrupt to apologize and promise that he'd pay for it again, but Bella talked over the top of him.

"He saved my life..." she raised her voice, glaring daggers at him to shut the hell up. "So I figured he doesn't need to pay to replace it… I'll call someone up and get it done."

"Don't worry about it," Alice said. "Jazz is really good at this sort of stuff, I'll get him to come around and have a look." Bella resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Alice would bring Jasper up whenever she had a freaking chance. Instead, she smiled tightly and nodded.

"If he's keen, that'd be great, otherwise let me know…" She checked the time again, her mobile phone flashing at her that she was going to be late. She grimaced.

"I really have to go… Edward's is going to give me a lift to the club… Er… To the bar." _Fucking god dammit_. She hoped Rosalie hadn't noticed that slip. Not that it was too much of one… But Rosalie was looking at her strangely.

"Didn't you just nearly die? From my understanding, I would think that Riley would be alright with you taking a night off after what happened to you. I mean, you're doing him a favour with all of this. Why don't you give him a call and get the night off? I'll make you some dinner; we could watch a few movies. Surely pouring drinks for people all night long after nearly falling off a two-story building is too much."

"As I said to Edward before," she spoke calmly; her eyes flickered to Edward who was looking between the two girls with one of his unreadable broody expressions. "I'm perfectly okay. I'm not hurt. There's no reason for me to take a night off. Besides, a little extra cash will do me better than harm."

"Oh Jesus! Is this about your damn shoes? Honestly, Bella. You really need to kick your damn shoe habit. I mean… It's one thing to pick up another job, it's a completely different thing to sell your damn car-"

"Look Rosalie! I'm a big girl, I can do what I want. Just let me go to work!" Bella had snapped but she'd felt Edward's eyes flash to hers at the mention of Bella selling her car and she knew that that wasn't what she'd told Edward. Edward had just caught her lie.

She could feel her face flushing, his eyes causing her to slowly turn red.

Rosalie's mouth had snapped shut as she flinched back at Bella's harsh tone. "Right… Well… Okay… I… I'm glad you're alright. Alice. Let's go see what we can make for dinner, I'm famished."

Bella's eyes flickered to Alice's who was staring at her wide-eyed. Bella nearly sighed in exasperation; honestly it wasn't like they'd never seen her snap before. Except she usually only reserved that treatment for the man who was staring at her coolly. He hadn't said a word this whole time.

With Rosalie and Alice now gone, Bella could go about grabbing the stuff she needed for work. Her make up bag, a hair straightener, her clothes. "Shit. My wig…" she murmured and opened up her closet to dig out the wig she'd been wearing for the past week.

"Okay. I'm ready to go," she said finally, Edward had remained silent even through her finishing grabbing her stuff. She dared to risk glancing at him to see if she could work out what he was thinking.

His brow was furrowed, his mouth set in a grim line and he wasn't saying a word.

"You know… I can catch a taxi. It really wouldn't be a problem…"

Edward's mind was going at a hundred miles an hour.

Throughout the conversation with Bella's housemates his shoulders had stiffened and his gaze snapped up to stare at Bella who was hastily trying to derail Rosalie's train of thought. Was that the story that she had fed her friends? That she was waitressing at a _bar_? But Edward soon found out that that wasn't even half of it.

The expression on his face continued to grow darker with each word that slipped from Rosalie and Bella's lips, his eyes narrowing as he realized that a lot of the things she had told him and that Edward had taken for truth were in fact just outright lies. What the hell was she trying to save up so much money for that Bella had to be forced to sell her car? He refused to believe in her ridiculous shoe story. Bella was a lot of things, but he highly doubted that she was such a shoe aficionado that she would resort to stripping on the weekends.

Edward realised just how nervous he made Bella once Rosalie and Alice had left. The air around them practically radiated with the tension as he felt her sneak a peek at him.

"No. I'll take you," he said quietly after having mentally counted to ten and back down again until the sharper swell of unbidden anger had sank down again. It wouldn't do to get mad and confront Bella now. Not here with Rosalie and Alice just within earshot.

But his eyes were still dark and broody as he took the bag from Bella's hand. "I'll need to drop by my place to change my shirt and grab my keys though. I'll be quick. Then we'll go straight to the _bar_." Edward emphasized the last word for the girls' benefit.

As promised, it took him less than five minutes to change into a fresh dress shirt, dab on some cologne and grab his keys. In no time they were bundled up in his black Chevrolet and heading toward _Indulgences_. Edward spoke very little on the journey there; the result of heavy thinking and the strain it took him to not stop the car right there and demand the truth from Bella.

_Patience_, he tried to remind himself as his hands gripped the steering wheel. _He needed to be patient_. Getting mad at her now would only serve to push her farther away from him… and how would he be able to help her then?

* * *

**Q.A**

**Q. How do you know so much about strip clubs?**

**A. I've been to a few. I don't know everything but I also have a friend that has worked for a few years in a club (unlike Bella, she loves her job and now does x rated parties). And research. Just reading everything I can about them online has helped immensely. **

**Q. How long do you expect this story to be?**

**A. No idea! I've written about fifty chapters but it's not finished. **

**Q. Will your posting schedule slow down once you've posted up everything you've written?**

**A. Probably, most definitely. **


	21. Chapter 21

Bella was somewhat relieved that the car ride to the club was filled with silence. She'd half expected Edward to start ranting and raving at her, demanding answers that she couldn't give.

When they pulled up at the curb Bella turned to Edward. "Will you… Will I see you after my feature dance?" She asked, her voice wavering a little with uncertainty.

Edward had intended to drop Bella off in front of the club before looping back around the block to find a parking spot. At her question though, he paused. His eyes flicked to her face.

"Do you want to see me?" his voice was low.

Did she? She swallowed, her eyes flickered downward and her cheeks heated.

"Yes." She finally said after a beat. Her eyes drifted back up to meet Edward's.

She would endure his questions. She would endure anything if it meant thirty minutes with him.

"Then I'll be there." His eyes smoldered as they met Bella's wide brown ones.

He forced himself not to think about the possibility that Bella might just endure his company during their private dances because of the money it brought her. It was probably true, but the thought was a painful one. Edward would have much rather believed that she wanted to see him because she _actually_ wanted to see him… That she enjoyed dancing for him as much as he enjoyed watching her.

_This is why you're an idiot, Edward_. The little voice in his head scoffed.

"By the way… nice shoes, Bella." He remarked lightly as she clIsaed out of the car. A ghost of a smile crossed his face but before she could respond, Edward had already driven away.

As Bella climbed out of the car she turned to hear Edward's snarky words. His tone was light, but she still flinched knowing exactly what he was saying behind the words. She slammed the door shut, a little harder than what was necessary and turned on her heel.

She was running late. Most of the girls had already arrived and glanced up when she came bustling through the door. But they were accommodating enough to give her mirror time to get ready, she applied her makeup carefully, outlining her lips and filling them with red lip-stainer.

Some of the girls disappeared, emptying out the change rooms which allowed Bella to move around more freely. She got changed into her outfit. Today it was a periwinkle blue bra and matching g-string with a sarong tied around her waist.

She was tying the straps of her shoes around her ankle when she looked up into the mirror to find Riley standing directly behind her. Her heart leapt into her throat.

"Riley!" She stared at him through the mirror; he placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her, although the smile did not quite reach his eyes.

"Just wanted to remind you of what I expect from you today. You remember, of course?" Bella nodded, her spine tensing.

He looked her over. _"_This is nice… Wear it for me after the show. Come to my office before you get changed."

"Okay." Bella quickly agreed, and then he was gone. Bella breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing Riley moments before she was due to start her work was nerve racking.

She went through her motions; she gave her song list to Tyler, ignored his leering glances and finished getting ready in the change room.

The doors opened and men gradually spilled in over the night, it was slow going. There was only two bucks parties and Bella began to worry that she wouldn't be able to make her target tonight.

Edward sat in the back, as he usually did. She kept an eye on him, as she was coming back from doing one of her dance routines on the stage, she bumped into Clara. "I noticed your boy toy is back tonight." Bella looked up and laughed lightly. "Seriously girl. You are one lucky girl having that piece of meat wanting you to dance for him." Clara pretended to fan herself.

Bella was beginning to feel a little edgy, for some reason she didn't like Clara talking about Edward like that.

"You know… I noticed you went home the other day with him…"Clara led.

"It's not like that…" Bella defended herself.

"You don't have to lie to me, Isa." Clara laughed at the face Bella pulled. "If that man wanted me, I wouldn't even think twice."

Bella sighed. She knew there was no point in defending herself to Clara. Clara would believe what she wanted to believe.

Bella counted each note that made its way into her pocket. She knew she wasn't making nearly enough, and while she was doing well for a regular night, she needed to make double it. She was beginning to stress, her customers were even beginning to notice as she wrangled hard for their money; she had to control herself before she started begging them.

By the time she was due for her feature dance, Bella was really feeling the stress. She found it difficult to smile, her fingers shook as she took the small notes that were offered to her on the stage.

"_Take it all off!"_Someone had jeered to her half way through the first song which had made her falter in her step. She had her routine, she _would_ take it all off, but the reminder that a crowd of people had their eyes glued to her, _expecting_ her to remove all her clothes made her feel so dirty.

She was relieved when the final notes of her last song ended and she could collect her clothes, wipe down the pole and leave the stage. She redressed in the change room, choosing to keep the costume she'd been wearing instead of changing into the normal one. Usually this was the time that Edward liked to take her back for a dance with him and she'd picked this outfit, as usual, with him in mind.

She found him quickly. He'd been in the same spot all night long. Most of the girls by now knew that she was his and so had steered clear of him. Some talked to him, just to keep him company, but they all knew he wouldn't accept their dances.

Bella sauntered over to him, Edward's eyes met hers and he smiled. She could feel her body relax with every step closer she took to him.

He noted the nervous tension that hung around her… something he had noticed when she had been dancing on stage that night as well. She hadn't been as fluid as she always was and he had wondered why. Was it because of what had happened that afternoon with George? Or because she thought that he was still mad with her?

And while Edward was on some levels still annoyed with her – more annoyed than angry, really – the brief time they'd spent apart had cooled him down somewhat.

"Hey." He smiled as she came to a stop by his table. Edward's green eyes softened appreciatively as they took her appearance that night before moving back up to settle on her face. "Sit with me?"

He gestured to his own half empty glass, "Do you want something to drink?"

Bella took a seat next to Edward, her stomach fluttered with nerves her mind too occupied with thoughts of what Riley was going to do to her tonight. "A drink would be amazing…" she murmured. "Something strong?" She asked.

She stood up again to follow Edward to the bar. Amy, the same girl that had been speaking with Edward the night before was there serving another customer but she quickly turned her attention to Edward, a bright smile on her face. "Hi Edward! What can I get you? Your usual?"

Bella was surprised that Amy even knew Edward's name a flash of irritation coursed through her too, how often had Amy and Edward talked?

Amy's eyes flickered to Bella's. "Isa? Did you want your usual too?"

The girl was good. Bella realised. She'd only ordered from Amy a couple of times, but the young brunette still remembered. "Yes, please."

Bree set down a glass filled with ice and a shot and a half of scotch as well as two shot glasses filled with tequila, two slices of lemon and a bit of salt for her hand. As Edward paid, she licked the space between her thumb and forefinger, sprinkled some salt on it, picked up the lemon wedge, breathed out, and licked the salt. Picking up the shot glass, she tossed the tequila down her throat and grabbed the lemon wedge, biting into it.

The alcohol burned her throat but she knew she needed it. She repeated the process with the second shot just as Edward was turning back to her, having finished paying.

Two shots of tequila would give her a good buzz, but not enough to make her fall on her face. Besides she was done with her stage dances for the night. She needed to relax.

"Thanks."

Edward watched her with mild amusement as Bella set the second shot glass back down on the polished counter top. "Feeling better?" he asked. She nodded and he waited for her to elaborate but when she didn't, he let it go.

He paused long enough to brush some loose strands of Bella's dark brown hair back from her face in a surprisingly tender gesture. His face was a little wistful. Edward had always preferred her dark hair. He never thought it would make such a difference, but seeing her like this only reminded him about the other persona Bella took on while she worked at _Indulgences. _

Thanking Bree, Edward took his own drink and motioned for them to return to the table. "Shall we?"

* * *

**Q.A**

**Q. Do you have a beta?**

**A. No, I do a few proof reads myself. But if anyone has some editing experience and would like to volunteer as a beta, I'd be happy to consider! :)**


	22. Chapter 22

Bella took Edward's hand as he led her back to the table they'd just vacated. She was surprised that he wanted to wait a little bit, and she nervously wondered if Edward wasn't going to ask for one of his usual dances. Or did he want her to do it out here? Maybe that was his deal, maybe he felt things were getting too heated between them and he wanted her to cool things down. Having her out in the open would mean that she couldn't let him do the things she wanted him so desperately to do.

Edward took a seat and moved aside for Bella to sit next to him, but she had better ideas. Careful not to spill his drink, she took a seat on his lap, straddling his legs and giving him a playful smile. Isa was in charge here. "You know, I think I forgot something in the change room," Bella murmured, her voice taking a highly flirtatious tone. "If you reached under my skirt, you'd know exactly what I'm talking about."

She watched Edward's expression. She didn't want to dance for him out here. She wanted him to herself, where no one else could see them, if it was Edward's intention to prevent what had been happening the past few nights they'd been together, then Bella would do everything she could to sabotage that.

"Why are we out here, Edward? Don't you want me?" Her lips dragged against his cheek.

Edward had been surprised when Bella had settled for his lap rather than the perfectly good seat beside him. Ever since he'd let himself lose control like that the night before, he had been debating whether letting Bella dance for him was doing more harm than good. There was no way he could keep letting her go on like that without the ever rising need to push her down on the long sofa and ravish her completely until _she_ was the one to beg him to stop.

It was only Edward's own innate selfishness and jealousy that stopped him from letting Bella go. He hated the thought of her dancing for anyone but him. If he could, he would ask to keep her for the whole night, if only to stop anyone else from seeing her.

_If you reach under my skirt, you'd know exactly what I'm talking about…_

His eyes flicked up to her face. Was she serious? But Bella smiled encouragingly at him. He guessed rather wryly that the 'no-touching' policy only extended so far as the strippers wanted. Even so, Edward was cautious as he rested his hand on her thigh. He could feel the thin material of her thigh-highs under his heavy palm and he felt a small wave of anticipation roll over him even as his eyes narrowed at the playful smile on her face.

"Tell me something. Do you find as much pleasure teasing me as you do other men?" Edward's voice was low as his hand continued to slip upwards and underneath the fabric of her skirt. He felt the warm satin skin of her thigh, relishing the feel of it and he was forced to bite down the desire to touch her heat which he knew lay just a few inches away from his hand. He continued to watch her, trying to figure out what it was she wanted from him and why in God's name she was smiling up at him so mischievously like that.

Edward's eyes widened and as if to make her point, Bella shifted slightly in his lap so that the movement caused his hand to brush against her hip… her _bare_ hip. There was nothing there, no lace, no skimpy thong string that indicated she was wearing anything under her current get up.

She was completely bare.

He breathed in sharply as her smile grew. Edward's eyes narrowed, their color dark with a mixture of lust and annoyance, but his hands continued to explore he cupped her bottom.

"Bella." He growled, his grip on her tightening. What kind of game was she playing at, teasing him like this?

Her skirt was doing a nice job of covering her up, hiding Edward's hand from view. If anyone chose to watch them, they would see a girl giving a guy a tasteful lap dance. A tasteful lap dance being one where she kept her clothes on.

She considered his question. _Do you find as much pleasure teasing me as you do other men? _

"No." She replied, smirking at the sting those words had caused Edward, but then immediately felt bad. She quickly amended. "I don't ever feel pleasure doing this… Except for when I'm with you." She told him truthfully.

She shifted in his lap forcing his fingers to brush over her heat. She moved her hips, grinding her body over his hand.

"You know…" she breathed. "Last night, when we were together. I was so close; you could have touched me like this and I would have come undone in your hands."

"You really want to be careful what you say next, sweetheart." He murmured. His fingers brushed leisurely over her making her squirm in his lap.

She paused and looked him in the eye. She knew her eyes were as equally dark with lust. "No man turns me on the way you do."

She groaned softly as Edward's fingers sank deeper inside of her, filling her. "We should…" She gasped again as he moved inside of her. "We should go out back… Please!" The last word coming out louder than she'd aimed for it to. Making her sound wanton, begging…

Edward withdrew from her and helped her to sit up; she waited as he finished his scotch, grabbed his hand and led him to the private rooms.

* * *

**What's gonna happen in the private rooms? O.O**


	23. Chapter 23

**A lot of you are very worried about Bella's boss. The rest of you are just wanting to see what happens in the private rooms! **

* * *

They had barely made it five steps into the private room when Edward tugged Bella on top of his lap on the long leather sofa. This scene mimicked the other nights where she had danced for him, except this time, he intended to be the one teasing _her_.

And he knew exactly where to start.

He nuzzled her neck as he pressed searing hot kisses onto the exposed skin of her neck and shoulders, dipping down the valley of her skimpily covered breasts. Edward wanted nothing more than to retrace his steps back up to cover Bella's mouth with his, to hear her stifled moans crushed against his lips as he brought her pleasure. But he didn't, only because he didn't want their first kiss to be here in _Indulgences_. He didn't want it to be in this fit of wanton fervor that had suddenly seized Bella. When Edward kissed her – and make no mistake he would – it would be special and not founded on lust, but care and passion.

His hands cupped her breasts, squeezing gently before lowering his head and sucking hard at the nipples through the fabric. Bella's back arched, a loud moan falling from her lips as he worked and teased the buds to painfully hardened points.

"Someone's a little excited, hey sweetheart?" he murmured as she squirmed in his lap, trying to rub up against him in any way that she could. He knew that Bella was tired of his teasing and was desperate for him to continue touching her the way he had earlier.

He could feel her wetness dripping from her inner thigh, dampening his pants in a way that he was certain would leave a stain. To think that Bella, _his_ Bella, was all hot and wet and bothered because of _him_! She hadn't even cared if anybody had seen them outside just now with his fingers stroking the special heat between her thighs. She had just wanted it so bad.

"Such a bad girl," Edward growled as his hand slid up her thighs, one finger reaching up to graze the tiny bud of her clit. Bella cried out, pressing herself closer to him. Her body was shaking with desire as she rubbed herself over his hand, wanting more of the delicious friction that he was stubbornly denying her. "Letting me touch you like that in front of all those people." His finger slid between her slick wet folds of her sex, teasing her briefly before pulling back to trace circles around her sensitive clit.

Edward's words were whispered so hotly into her ear that a heat like none other that she'd felt before spasmed through her building up and making her whole body tense and tingle. "Oh God, Edward…" She groaned. "I don't care if anyone watches. I just want you. I need you." She moaned again as his fingers flicked over her clit.

She could feel her own wetness building up, his fingers slid over her so easily. Her own hands began to fumble at the buttons of her top pulling it open, exposing her bra which she also quickly undid flinging both to the ground. She clutched at Edward's head, forcing his lips to her breasts.

Tension was building up inside of her and she knew that it wouldn't take him long at all to bring her over the edge. "Please! Please more…"

Edward smirked as Bella began to beg. "Not quite so fun when the teaser becomes the teased now, hey?" he felt her shudder against him as his fingers circled her hard aching bud. But she continued to whimper, rubbing herself against his hand in a silent plea to touch her where she most wanted. And finally, Edward obliged.

He stroked her wet slit, groaning as her juices coated his fingers. "You're so wet, Bella." He murmured. He slowly slid his finger in and upwards, feeling her clench tightly around him. "Do you like it when I touch you like this?" Edward asked as he slowly began to move in and out of her. But just as he could feel Bella's muscles tensing up and reaching the edge of her orgasm, he would back off, his fingers going back to their slow rhythmic strokes.

"Say it." His voice was low, his eyes dark with desire as he gazed at Bella. "Say you want me." _Only me_, he resisted the urge to add. It was only when she conceded, her cheeks flushed and tears of obvious sexual frustration threatening to fall from her eyes that Edward plunged two fingers back inside and began to pump in and out.

His name sounded amazing on her lips as he continued to thrust against her with his hand and Edward could only imagine how amazing it would be like to have her moaning under him as he ravished her with his cock. "Come for me, Bella." He coaxed, his fingers pumping until he felt her muscles suddenly clamp down hard around his and Bella finally climaxed with a loud cry. Edward's fingers keep stroking, riding out the waves of pleasure until Bella could stand it no more and sagged weakly against his chest.

As she caught her breath, he slowly pulled his hand away and raised his fingers to his lips for a taste. There were so many ways he wanted to have Bella… thirty minutes couldn't possibly be enough.

It was Edward's whispers that sent her over the edge more than anything, although his wicked fingers certainly helped a lot. Bella found herself coming hard and fast and she had absolutely no control over her body or the loud moans coming from her mouth. She'd screamed, oh how she'd screamed. She'd told him that she wanted him. Had gasped for breaths of air in between her words.

Edward had tortured her. There was no other word for it, but she would happily have him do it again, have him draw the pleasure from her body so agonizingly slowly just to send her into that heavenly bliss once again.

His fingers continued to slowly stroke over her saturated flesh, causing her body to spasm and shudder as she came down from her high. What had he done to her? He'd reduced her to a mess. She wasn't even sure where she was anymore…

Gradually things came back into focus and she realized she was clinging to Edward's body, she was draped over him, his hand was stroking her naked back and her hair in soothing and calming motions.

Bella sat back and looked around her. An uneasy feeling settled in her stomach as she realized what she'd just let Edward do. She didn't regret what they'd done, but wished more than anything that they hadn't done it in here.

But it hadn't been as though Edward had insisted. She'd asked for it, had practically begged for it. Did she have no self-control?

Edward was digging around in his pocket for his wallet and she realized with horror that he was going to pay her.

"Don't," she said sharply, she staggered to her feet. Her legs felt like jelly, she was still trembling from the waves of her orgasm. "Don't pay me. Not for that…" She shook her head.

"I can't keep doing this with you, Edward." To her dismay, tears had sprung to her eyes. She reached for her clothes. "I'm sorry… I have to… I have to work. I have to go." Without even letting Edward speak, to say anything to defend what they'd just done, she turned and bolted.

_Coward._ A voice inside her head snarked at her but she ignored it.

* * *

**- sigh - All that wasted time... Do you think she did the right thing? **


	24. Chapter 24

**So today has been unbearably hot. For those that don't know, I live in Australia... The temperature reached 40 C today (104 F). Have been blasting the air con all day watching old episodes of Dexter and eating icy poles. But I thought I'd leave a chapter for you before I go die of heat exhaustion or something.**

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"Bella! Wait!" Edward shouted as she turned on her heel and ran from the room. "Bella!"

He hadn't meant to offend her. He would never have even touched Bella like that had she not given him permission to… Had she not _begged_ him to. Edward had only reached for his wallet because he had thought it was the right thing to do in their screwed up position. He hated paying Bella for the time she chose to spend with him, not because of the money – the money didn't mean shit to him – but because he felt that it degraded her. Bella's company was a gift that no amount of money in the world could ever help him buy.

But Edward was also aware that the thirty minutes that she spent every night with him could be better spent with paying clientele; leering, disgusting, groping men, but men who would pay Bella the money that she so obviously needed.

He had reached for his wallet because he wanted to help her. Not buy her.

Edward stared at the door in dismay before rising to his feet. He nodded to the bored looking bouncer at the end of the corridor as he left the room before making his way to his usual table by the back, intending to wait for Bella. He wasn't going to leave the club without her, and certainly not without apologizing for what he'd done.

The rest of the night passed in a fast haze for Bella and it was well after four in the morning when the doors of the club closed and everyone was kicked out. Riley had specifically requested that Bella visit his office straight away to discuss what she'd earned and so that's where she found herself.

Bella knocked on the door of Riley's office. Her hands shook, she held the entirety of all she'd earned that night plus a small bit that she'd managed to scrape from her other job that hadn't already gone to paying for the bills and rent that she was desperately behind on.

It was only because Rosalie was her friend that she was still living where she was. She knew that if she'd been living with anyone else, she would have been kicked to the curb weeks ago. And yet, Rosalie had allowed for the late payments in rent, it had helped somewhat that Alice had begun to chip in; it certainly helped ease the burden. But Rosalie had made her demands that week, saying that they desperately needed to pay two bills they were late on and that the landlord had given their second notice to pay last month's rent. Bella had needed to dig deep into her pockets to come up with the money she owed as well as the money she would need to cover what she couldn't earn at the club.

But it wasn't enough. She'd missed the mark by two hundred and twenty five dollars. She had no idea what to expect from Riley. She hoped that all he wanted was for her to do a stupid show for him, which she could do in ten minutes and be on her way… But what if he wanted more? What if he wanted to teach her a lesson?

Even if she had let Edward pay her for that stupid stunt of hers in the private rooms earlier, it still wouldn't have been enough. Her stomach twisted thinking about it. How could she have been so stupid? Was she really so desperate that she would rub herself all over him like a bitch in heat? And that's exactly what she had done! She'd been so overwhelmed by him, so turned on and he certainly hadn't helped the matter. His words, like liquid gold, had sent shivers down her spine, inciting her nerve ends and making her quiver. His fingers had stroked her flesh, bringing her so close to the edge that by the time he eventually allowed her to come she'd nearly been a sobbing mess.

And then, once she'd recovered. She'd turned and ran, like a coward. She highly doubted that Edward would be waiting for her.

"Come in!" Bella's brow furrowed as she opened the door to reveal not only Riley sitting comfortably at a card table, but two of his friends. Both were somewhat older than him, overweight and looked like they belonged on a motorbike or maybe in a truck driver's seat. Their arms were heavily inked with tattoos and Bella's body chilled just looking at them. Riley didn't pay them any notice though, they were playing poker, she realized.

"Well, let's see it then." Riley remained in his seat waiting expectantly for Bella to cross the room and hand him the cash she'd earned for the night. He counted it. Bella held her breath. She knew he would discover what was missing but she just didn't know what his reaction would be.

"A shame." Riley finally spoke, leaning back. "I really thought you had it in you to make more."Riley was saying, tutting his tongue in disappointment. He lifted his hand and revealed a gun. Bella's eyes widened as she heard the click of it. Was he going to shoot her?

She took a nervous step backward and Riley laughed. He wasn't pointing the gun at her but the sight of it was enough to send her nerves scattering. He wouldn't shoot her, would he? People would hear it. Would Edward hear it, that's if he was even waiting for her? She wondered if he would come looking for her, the thought of him finding these three men standing over her body… And what they would then do to Edward once he discovered her… Her heart raced, her stomach felt sick. She couldn't let anything happen to Edward.

"I'm not going to kill you… Well, not yet. But I do want you to give us a show… I have been begging you for weeks after all. I think it's only fair."Riley gestured with the hand that wasn't holding his gun toward his friends; she glanced over to see that they were looking Bella up and down giving her appreciative looks. Music started to play, a sultry beat that Bella recognized from one of her dancing playlists.

It took her a few moments to move but she did eventually. She could do this. She danced all the time, she gave lap dances to men, she made them think that she liked doing this to them. Bella could act. But the fear of the gun that Riley still had a hand grip on made her fingers shake as she began to move, removing the straps of her bra…

Minutes passed as she danced closer to the men, paying each of them some attention before moving on. She stood in front of each man, her back to them as she danced. Her bottom rubbing up against the crotch as was standard with any lap dance. She removed clothing item one at a time.

And then she was standing naked, and she felt a sweaty, meaty hand on her hip. She faltered, her eyes glanced to Riley but he was watching her, a calm expression on his face as though nothing in the world was wrong. His eyes flickered up and down her body. And so she continued to move, her body swaying in time to the music.

The hand on her hip moved, higher… higher… and then it was cupping her breast. Hard. Bella's body stiffened, Riley was grinning a wide smile on his face. The club had a strict 'no touching' policy. The only man she'd ever let break that rule was Edward.

"What's the matter, I thought you liked being touched…" Riley was grinning manically. "I've been watching you, Bella…" He stood to his feet and crossed the room to stand in front of her. Horror filled her as she took in his words. He tutted at her. "I've got to keep an eye on my girls, what if something bad happened to one of them? Did you not know that there are cameras in all of the rooms?" He asked her. "Well… All except for this one. There are no cameras in here." He winked. The gesture only made Bella feel worse.

The meat head's hands were now going lower, one hand gripped her hip, almost painfully the other dipped lower and between her legs and then… Bella squirmed trying to get out of his grasp. "No. Don't! Stop!"

"You hear that, she said don't stop! She must like you Darren!" Riley leered at her watching her squirm and sob, pleading for them to stop as Darren stroked her between her legs.

"Please… Stop. Please," she begged. He kept up these ministrations as Bella struggled in his arms, pleading with him until Riley finally told him to stop. Bella was pushed to the floor.

"She does nothing for me anyway. Stupid slut." Darren was saying as he sat back in his chair.

Riley stood above her, the gun still in his hand. Was this the part that he killed her?

"Consider this a warning, Bella. You fuck up again…" He trailed off leadingly, and gave a small wave of his gun. "I'll do much worse. Now get the fuck out of here."

Bella didn't even hesitate. She didn't bother to grab her clothes. She got the fuck out of there.

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**So who wants Riley to die?**


	25. Chapter 25

**A break from the heat! Much cooler today which is good, because I'm back at work. Thanks for all of your reviews guys. It's really lovely to hear such warm feedback. I'm glad you are enjoying reading as much as I enjoy writing it. **

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Even at two o'clock in the morning, the night seemed to be a slow one for a Saturday. Edward thought that there were far more people at yesterday's show as his eyes roamed over the large room. He paid no attention to the buxom redhead currently stripping on the stage, certain that the parts of her body which gained her so much attention from the members of the front row were fake anyway – and tried instead to look for Bella.

She had been steadily avoiding his side of the room the whole night, never once looking his way let alone wandering over to his corner. Edward wasn't even sure if she knew that he was still around. He hadn't exactly been able to call out to her either as every time he spotted the brunette, she was disappearing off into the back room with another eager paying customer.

Edward's face darkened as he raised his glass to his lips. After what they'd done that night, after the way he had touched Bella, he couldn't help feeling a little jealous. Nay, _very_ jealous. He wasn't used to sharing and he didn't like it – especially when sharing meant sharing _Bella_. He tried to tell himself that this was her job; she had to tease the other men, she had to take her clothes off. She was a stripper.

But his hands always curled into tight fists at the thought of her allowing someone else to touch her body like he had.

_It would be easier if she wasn't a stripper_, he thought moodily. Why was Bella moonlighting as one anyway? Edward reflected back over the new pieces of information that had slipped today over Rosalie and Alice's conversation with Bella. _Whatever financial problem she had, it must be quite big,_ he decided –_ if it meant that she had been forced to sell her car to cover for it._ But why? What problem? Did she have student debts to cover or something? He assumed that she would have been able to pay them all off by now at their age, especially with the job she'd landed with at the magazine.

She was healthy. Surely she didn't have any medical bills. And nor did she seem to have any close family – or any family at all, for that matter – that might be otherwise affected that she would need to help out with.

There was something missing to the picture. But what was it? And why wouldn't she let him in to help her?

Edward set his glass down loudly on the table, his face dark and broody. By now, he was certain he knew Bella enough that she most definitely wasn't stripping because she enjoyed it. At least, stripping for other people. She seemed to enjoy it well enough for Edward. (Everything up to about what had happened earlier that night at any rate.) He had remembered asking Bella once if she was being forced to do this work. Even if someone wasn't dragging you out on stage in chains didn't mean that there weren't other ways of coercing you into doing things you didn't want to do. Had someone threatened her?

But Bella dodged the question and with a sudden sickening sinking feeling, Edward began to realize that perhaps there was a reason for that. That she had been forced into stripping had been his fear from the start, but from his casual talks with the other workers in the place – dancers, waitresses and bartenders alike – he was pretty certain that none of them were doing this because someone had put a gun to their head. Or were they just all really good actors?

_It's okay_, he assured himself. This would all come to pass. He would take Bella home and apologize for his behavior… and then slowly coax her into telling him why she was working at _Indulgences_. He would get to the bottom of this, if it was the last thing he did. But what he needed to remember now was patience. Patience was key. And so Edward waited at the table until the end of the night; until four o'clock had come and gone and it was only the fact that he was in the good graces of Tom, the bartender, that he was able to avoid the bouncers from chucking him out and continue waiting for Bella.

But when Tom had left, and even Bree and the other waitresses had disappeared too, he frowned. Where was Bella? He hadn't noticed her leaving with the other strippers. Was she still in the changing room perhaps? Or had she slipped out the back door after seeing Edward waiting at the table for her to come out? He scowled.

Edward rose to his feet and moved towards the back of the club where the dark hallway led to the girls' changing rooms and the main offices. _Didn't they want lights in here or something?_ He thought as he maneuvered himself in the semi-darkness. In the silence that surrounded him, there was the sudden loud slam of a door that made him jump. He peered around the corner only to have someone light and small collide quite hard into him.

"I'm sorry," Edward apologized, reaching down to help her up. "I didn't see you there…" The girl's curtain of blonde hair hid her face from his eyes and it was only once he'd helped the shaking girl up that he realized two things: one, she was completely naked and two, the terrified girl in his arms was none other than _Bella_.

His gaze immediately went to the door that she had just shot out from. 'MANAGER' it proclaimed in large, bold letters. "Did he touch you?" Edward demanded furiously. The blood drained from his face as he looked between the door and Bella's trembling naked body. _What the fuck? _

"Did he hurt you?" Edward's eyes were dark and livid, his expression dangerous as he turned to throw open the door which Bella had just ran out from. But she shook her head fiercely, tugging at his hand in a vain attempt to drag him down the hallway.

"_You can't go in there!"_ she cried plaintively.

"I don't care." He snarled. Edward could feel the fury rise up in him; feel the sharp taste of it on his tongue as his blood rushed to his head. He could hear the blood pounding in his ears, his hearts furious rhythm a constant beat to the sudden surge of dark rage pulsating through his body.

Once he was done punching the man's face in, he would set about the best way to kill him. Painfully_. _

No one touched Bella like that. _No one_.

Bella had initially flinched when her body had collided against Edward's hard chest but once she knew it was him she felt relief wash over her body. His arms had lifted her up to hold her, to stop her from sagging to the floor in a helpless heap.

As she looked up to his face, she saw anger there. His brooding stare was taking in her nudity, and the door she'd just shut behind her. His angry words made her flinch again. Why would he think that she let Riley do this to her? She wanted to tell him no, but fear still gripped her keeping her from speaking. His next question, did Riley hurt her?

Physically, the answer to that was no. She wasn't hurt. He hadn't hit her; there were no bruises on her body to prove anything. Not this time. But she'd been degraded, humiliated, and she was trembling with fear. The fear of Riley killing her the next time she failed to deliver. Her body was tense with it.

But Edward was moving toward the door now. He intended to speak with the man that had done this to her. She reached out to him. "You can't go in there."

But Edward didn't even care. She needed to get him to stop! She tugged on his arm "Edward! No, they have guns." She hissed. "They'll kill you. Please."

Edward's eyes flickered to her, wide but still angry.

A sob escaped her. "Please, can you take me home?"

After a moment's pause, Edward finally relented only because his concern for Bella's current state overrode any deep-set fury he had for Riley. There were priorities and taking care of Bella had always been one of his top ones.

_Some other time_, he thought darkly as he gave the door a final glance.

"Come here." He said gruffly, shrugging off his jacket and slipping it over her shoulders to shield her nakedness from him. "Where are your clothes? Do you want to change?" He would wait for her in the changing room if she wanted. But Bella shook her head, begging him to take her home now.

Edward agreed and careful to keep only his hand in the center of her back – she was still so skittish, he didn't want her to think he was pulling moves on her or anything – he gently guided her outside to where he'd parked the car.

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**Yay! Edward to the rescue. :)**


	26. Chapter 26

**This Monday is going very slowly... Hope you are having a good day, wherever you are in the world**

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The air around them was warm, there was no cold chill as it was still summer but even despite the fact that Bella was only clothed in Edward's coat she was still shivering. Edward's hand on her back was the only comfort she had as he walked her across the road. She was grateful that she still had her shoes on; glass from broken beer bottles littered the ground around them.

She clutched the coat around her, keeping it tight so that her body wasn't exposed to the nighttime air. It was a large coat, dark and warm and it reached her mid-thigh, the sleeves ran past her hands.

Edward opened the door and ushered her in. She was grateful that he hadn't gone barging into the office. Grateful that she hadn't gotten him caught up in this mess.

Edward turned the heat on for her when he got into the car, something she only mildly noticed. He didn't need to though. She wasn't shivering from cold. She tried hard not to sob too loudly, but the tears ran down her cheeks none the less.

He continued to glance sideways at Bella as they drove. Now that she was safely in the car with him, Edward wasn't planning on letting her out of his sight again. He asked her the occasional question: _was she cold? Too warm? Did she want chocolate? Water?_ But nothing too overwhelming, not knowing what had happened to her or what kind of state of mind she was in. He could only assume the worse and the worse, unfortunately, wasn't very good.

Edward's hands gripped the steering as he sternly told himself to focus on getting them home in one piece.

It wasn't much longer after when the two of them reached their apartment block. Edward maneuvered the car into his usual parking spot and turned off the engine. He hesitated as he turned to Bella, watching her with careful eyes. He wanted nothing more than to touch her but was afraid it would do more harm than good.

"Bella, you have to tell me what happened." He said finally. His tone left no room for arguing.

Bella opened her mouth to tell him no. That she couldn't tell him. But the serious look on his face told her more than any words could. There was no getting out of this. There was no way Edward would let her walk away without her telling him what had happened. Or what was happening with everything. She bit her lip; she tasted blood and realized she'd gnawed through the skin.

Edward's hand twitched in his lap as though he wanted to reach out to touch her, but it remained where it lay.

She needed to buy time. "Not here… Can we go upstairs?"

"Sure." Edward agreed automatically although he was a little bit surprised. For one, Bella hardly ever gave in so easily. And two, he would have figured she would want to go back to her place rather than his. But perhaps she didn't want to risk Rosalie and Alice waking up and seeing her like this.

The two of them made their way upstairs. Edward fished his key out of his pocket and unlocked the door.

"Why don't you sit down?" he invited. He flicked on the light in the living room and went to the kitchen to put the kettle on. _Drinking something hot would do Bella some good,_ he decided.

From there, Edward remembered that Bella was completely naked beneath his jacket and disappeared into his bedroom to find something more suitable for her to wear. He came back with a clean football shirt from his college days that he hoped would be good enough to get her decently covered. He handed this to Bella and showed her where the bathroom was.

Edward's apartment was pretty much the same layout as Bella's except that there was only one main bedroom and a much smaller room that acted as an office. Still, she was appreciative of Edward who showed her where the bathroom was and handed her some of his clothes to wear. "Thank you," she murmured.

She shut the door behind her, it shut with a quiet click and then Bella was alone. She moved slowly toward the counter, placed the clothes Edward had brought her on the counter and stopped to stare into the mirror. The woman that stared back at her was a stranger. She was still wearing the wig, the blonde hair that framed her face was so different to what she was used to but it wasn't what made Bella feel as though she were looking at someone she didn't know.

She was pale, wide eyed and scared. But she was safe. For now at least.

Despair filled her as she tried to work out what she was going to do. She couldn't continue this. She couldn't keep working at the strip club, paying back her debt night by night. She'd thought it would be possible in the beginning. She knew now she was wrong.

And what would Edward say about it all? What would he do? What would she tell him? She knew she had to tell him something but her mind was too muddled for her to think through her options.

A quiet tap on the door startled her out of her thoughts. "Just a minute…" she called out.

Hurrying, she slipped the jacket that Edward had given off and pulled his large football jersey over her. It was massive on her and it smelt like Edward just a little bit. She pulled it to her nose and inhaled, the smell was comforting.

Swallowing, Bella glanced at herself in the mirror once more before turning and opening the bathroom to face the music.

While waiting for Bella to finish changing, Edward made a hot mug chamomile tea for her. He tried to smile when she finally emerged, sitting up from where he was on the sofa and handing it to her.

"Be careful. It's a little hot." He warned as she obediently raised the mug to her lips. He fell silent, watching her. To his relief, she had taken off the wig while she'd been in the bathroom. Seeing Bella with blonde hair only reminded him of the difference between her and her alter ego. And it wasn't Isa he wanted with him tonight. It was Bella.

"I'm sorry I don't have anything for your bottoms." Edward murmured after a pause. He smiled wryly. "I don't exactly keep clothes for girls at my house."

He was trying to diffuse the tension, waiting for her to tell him what had happened. He didn't want to force it out of her unless he absolutely had to. He would rather Bella come to him.

But Bella didn't even hear Edward. White noise was rushing through her ears as her mind flashed back to what had happened in Riley's office only thirty minutes ago.

Glancing out the window she could see that it was still dark, it was just a little bit after five o'clock in the morning, but she knew that the sun would begin to rise soon.

Tears welled up in her eyes again as she realized that she would still have to go back. She would still have to dance, strip her clothes and pretend that she liked what it was she did. She hated it though! She hated using her body as a way of making money, the hungry eyes of strangers taking her in, feasting on her most intimate body parts.

She remembered how horrible it had felt to have Riley's friend touch her, the same way that Edward had only a few hours before but this time eliciting a response from her that was so incredibly different.

She shuddered, a sickening ache in the pit of her stomach making her nauseated.

Edward was sitting by her now, waiting patiently for some kind of explanation of what had transpired but she couldn't think of how to explain it to him. Where did she even start?

She swallowed and eventually brought the mug to her lips, sipping at it, stalling for time.

Her hands were shaking and she could barely keep her mug from spilling and so after taking another sip, she leant over and placed it on the coffee table, and then did the only thing she knew that she wanted. What she needed. She turned to Edward and leaned her face against him; her shoulders shook with silent sobs as she buried her face against his chest.

"I can't… I can't do this anymore…" She admitted through her tears.

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**So we might just learn exactly why Bella is in this situation. Finally!**


	27. Chapter 27

**So I had a very eventful night... My neighbours dogs (who I am quite good friends with) escaped from their yard and at four in the morning I saw them in my yard... Went out to get them... They ran off! And we haven't seen them since. Spent the entire morning looking for them... No luck. **

**So, this is likely going to be the only chapter I put up today. **

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If Edward was surprised by the way Bella pressed herself against him, he didn't show it. His arms automatically rose up and around to pull her trembling body close to him. "It's okay; you're safe with me," he soothed as he stroked her hair. He could hear her ragged breaths and the fast pace of her heart as she whispered through her tears.

"You don't have to." Edward swore. "You don't ever have to go back there again." He pulled away to look at Bella. "No one's going to hurt you, Bella. You don't have to go back. I promise."

But it was a useless point to make, while Edward told her that she would not have to go back she knew it wasn't possible. She would... Or Riley would come and find her. He'd kill her for sure. Or he'd send Darren and the other guy that had been with them that evening.

"What did they do, Bella?" Edward asked after a long while.

She sniffled and looked up at him. She knew her eyes must be red and puffy from crying, she hid them from him and she was thankful when he didn't reach for her face to force her to look at him.

"Bella? Did they..." Edward didn't quite know how to say the words but he feared the absolute worse. "Did they rape you?"

Still unable to look him in the eye she shook her head no. A fraction of Edward's tension left his body but he was still upset. "What did they do?"

Swallowing she drew back and wrapped her arms around herself. She focused her eyes on a spot on the couch. "They... They told me to dance for them... To strip like I would normally. So... I did... I pretended to be Isa. I... danced for them and I gave them lap dances but..." A tear escaped her eye, trailing down her cheek as she spoke. "One of them touched me."

She brought her arms up to cover her chest as though she could still feel the man's sweaty hands touching her skin. "I pulled away but he grabbed me and held my waist so that I couldn't get away... His hands went all over my body. I pleaded with him... And no one tried to stop him. In fact, they all watched... They were laughing and then his hands were between my legs... Touching me... Touching me there."

Bella's eyes flickered up to Edward's and then away again, she couldn't bear looking into his eyes; shame filled her when she saw the anger that was building behind his eyes.

"And then they pushed me away... And they had a gun... He pointed it at me and I thought I was going to die. But... I didn't. They let me go." She swallowed; her body trembled as she remembered the fear that had gripped her so hard as Riley had held that gun to her head. One squeeze of the trigger and she'd have known nothing more.

For the second time that day, Bella wondered what it'd be like to give in to that serenity. She'd dangled from an air conditioning unit less than eight hours ago knowing that she'd most likely face death if she fell. But Edward had saved her, she'd clung to his body as though he were a bit of driftwood and he was the only thing keeping her afloat. And when she'd stumbled out of Riley's office she'd collided into him and once again, she'd clung to him. She hadn't wanted to let go, not even to find her some clothes to wear.

_"_Bella, why? Tell me why they're making you do this_."_ Edward was asking her and she knew that she couldn't lie to him. She couldn't feed him the same stories she'd fed Alice and Rosalie. But she was so ashamed. Edward was going to hear her story and he would no doubt look down his nose at her and see the pathetic human she was.

Silence filled the room until she finally looked up to see Edward's expectant expression. He wanted information but she couldn't find it within herself to tell him. She stared at him, helplessly.

"Bella, tell me. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong." Edward begged, his hand reaching up to cup her damp cheek in the palm of his hand. And he did so badly want to help her. His grey eyes, soft with concern, met her teary brown ones.

"Let me help you." He whispered. "Please. Tell me."

Bella sighed. She was tired. So exhausted from everything that had happened that day and all she wanted to do was close her eyes and sleep. But Edward was pressing her for answers and she knew that she owed it to him.

After everything...

But she feared what his response would be.

"When I was nineteen, before I met Rose. I got caught up in... Drugs. I was addicted to heroin." She couldn't even bring herself to look up at him, knowing what he must be thinking of her.

"I couldn't get off it. And I needed more... I had a friend... He gave me money but he fed my addiction too. He convinced me to take up stripping... To help feed my addiction. That was the first time. And then... And then I got out!"

She'd been free. Riley had given her an out; she'd thought she'd never see him again.

How wrong she'd been. When she'd first seen Riley after all these years she'd been relatively happy to see him, although a little apprehensive. Riley represented a past she had left behind but he had helped her. When he'd come back saying that she owed him a lot of money, she'd tried to close the door on his face.

The hours that followed after that had been some of the most horrifying ones she'd ever experienced. Riley had changed. He'd changed so much so that Bella didn't even recognize the man he'd become.

"I was free..." Bella continued. "But toward the end of last year, it all came back to haunt me."

At her words, Edward's fingers twitched from where they lay chastely on Bella's waist. His gaze automatically dropped down to her arms, trying to see for the signs of any recent drug use which (to his great relief), he found none.

If he knew who this "friend" of Bella was, he would go after the man with a bat, Edward thought rather savagely. He paused as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Was it Riley?" he demanded, his eyes flashing. "Did he do this?"

Bella glanced sharply at Edward at the mention of his name. Edward couldn't know. It was far too dangerous for him to know anything about this, let alone know the man responsible for what he was putting Bella through. Riley had threatened Bella himself that if she ever told anyone about their little arrangement that he would personally see that they learned nothing more. The threat behind those words sending a thrill down her spine.

Bella seized up. "No, it's not Riley," she lied. "And you can't know who it is... Edward, listen to me." She finally looked up at him, her eyes meeting his stony stare. She grabbed at his hand. "You can't get involved in this... I have it under control. I... I'm nearly there. I'm nearly free. I just... I slipped up tonight, it won't happen again."

"Bella…" His hand reached out to grab hers and he shifted closer so that his leg was resting against hers. Edward's green eyes were beseeching now as he tried to reason with her, tried to get her to understand where he was coming from. He couldn't back out now, not if he knew that there was the slightest possible chance that Bella was in danger. If everything she had said had been true, then the guys at _Indulgences_ were bad people and too dangerous to be messed with.

"You don't have to go back to that place. Trust me. Please, let me help you."

He touched her face, wishing she would look at him. "He's threatening you because of the money, isn't it? The money he leant you from before? Bella, that's blackmail. And what he did tonight – he can't do that, he can't touch you! That was as good as assault. If you're in danger, we should call the police."

Edward didn't understand. Bella shook her head feeling hopeless. "It's bigger than just him... There's more than just him and... And even if I went to the cops and told them what he was doing to me... His... The people that he works with. He promised me that they'd find me floating in the bay... If I ever said anything to anyone."

"You have to promise me you won't say anything to anyone, Edward. I don't want you getting hurt..." She shook her head. "I shouldn't have even told you any of this!"

If anything, Bella's protests only made Edward more determined. She was just so stubborn. Didn't she see that the police would help her, would keep her safe? He wasn't sure if this guy – these guys – were serious with their threats should Bella not comply with their wishes, but either way, the police would ensure her safety.

"You should have told me even sooner." He countered with a scowl. "Damn it, Bella, when will you realise how much I care about you?" Edward's jaw clenched tightly.

"How much are they asking?" he asked. "How much do you owe them?"

Bella paused. Everything she told Edward she had to weigh up. She had to make sure that it was information he could have. There was so much she couldn't tell him… She was already compromising his safety but so long as he didn't get involved in it, so long as Riley didn't find out that Edward knew so much, then it'd be alright? Right?

She swallowed. "I owed over fifty thousand… I've paid off over half of it already… I sold my car, and I gave up my savings… And then when I was getting desperate to pay more back, I started working at the club."

His eyes widened at the amount. Fifty thousand? How on earth did she end up owing these men fifty thousand dollars? That amount was more than enough to put a person through two years of uni!

"Bella… if you need money…" Edward trailed off. He touched her hand. "Let me help."

If money were all these men were asking for, Edward would gladly hand it over. Money he could give. Anything to stop Bella from stripping again at _Indulgences_. God knew he had enough of it sitting in the bank somewhere from the inheritance his grandfather had left for him before he passed away a good few years back. He hadn't touched it though, hadn't liked what it stood for but this was different. This would be helping Bella, would mean saving her.

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**So now you know a little bit of her past. Now Edward just needs to convince Bella someway to let him help her. **


	28. Chapter 28

**Good news. The dogs were found. Hooray! And that means you get another chapter. :D Double yay!**

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Bella shook her head. "No. No I'm not doing that." Her hair hung in her eyes as she stared at her fingers twisting together. Edward had to stop this. He had to stop questioning her, he couldn't help her. "You can't help me, Edward. I have to do this alone."

She needed to distract him from this line of thinking.

Bella's hands stopped their twisting act and grasped a hold of his hands again. Slowly she slid them up his arms, her eyes meeting his. "I know you care. I know you do…" She inched closer, her body leaning across the couch toward him. Her eyes flickered to his lips.

"I would do anything for you." Edward's voice was low, his green eyes smoldering. "You just have to ask."

"Thank you," her eyes lifted to his for a moment before drifting back down to his lips. She wanted to thank him. She was in front of him now, her body pressed against the side of his… She leaned in, closer. Edward wasn't stopping her.

Her lips touched his so lightly. Tentatively. And when he started to kiss her back she nearly moaned and her eyes fluttered close as she pressed herself harder against him.

She needed his contact. She needed his comfort. She needed him.

Bella had always been good at distracting him. But the way she chose to do so this time, quite frankly, took him by surprise. Edward felt her lips brush against him once, twice tentatively before he couldn't hold himself still any longer and wound one strong arm around her waist, pulling her body flush up against his.

He tried to go slow, tasting her upper lip then moving down to her full bottom lip but it was hard for him to restrain himself when she was pressing herself so eagerly up against him like this, stifling her moans against his mouth. With Bella so close to him like this, Edward was reminded that with the exception of the football shirt she wore – _his_ football shirt – she was completely bare underneath it.

And that more importantly, if he weren't careful, this kiss would soon spiral out of control.

Bella's fingers trailed over Edward's chest and downward toward the hem of his shirt where she skillfully maneuvered her hand so that she was touching the flat planes of his stomach. Edward's hands were around her body pulling her closer, Bella moved easily with his direction. Her bare legs straddling his waist as she kissed him harder.

Her tongue traced his bottom lip and his mouth parted for her allowing her entrance. "Mmm…" she moaned as she tasted him.

Edward's hand reached out to cradle the back of her head, kissing her deeper this time as Bella eagerly leant forward, pressing herself against him. He groaned and fisted his hand in the dark strands of her hair, crushing her lips to him. _Jesus, she tasted so good_…

His hand which remained chastely around her waist twitched as he waged the continuous war within him for the control he desperately wanted to keep versus the freedom to touch Bella the way he had been dreaming of since forever.

"Bella." Edward managed between kisses. "We can't… we shouldn't…"

She was squirming against him now, sliding her arms around his neck and drawing him closer to her. But Edward pulled abruptly away. The sight of Bella's brightly flushed cheeks and tousled hair only made his throbbing erection worse and he wanted nothing more than to scoop her back up in his arms and take her on the sofa right here, right now.

But he wouldn't. Not yet. Not tonight.

Edward ran his thumb across her pink swollen bottom lip, his eyes dark with longing even as he spoke. "You can't imagine how much I want you right now."

"I want you too…" she murmured, she could see the dark lust in Edward's eyes. Her own ones mirrored them. She backed away, her feet finding the ground as she took his hand and tugged toward him. Edward followed although it looked as though he wanted to stop her. She pressed herself to him again, her body molding to his perfectly as she reached up again to kiss him.

Bella somehow managed to have Edward guide her toward his bedroom, once the door closed behind them, she took the hem of his shirt that she was wearing and pulled upward. Revealing her to him, even if it was nothing he'd already seen before. But she was offering herself to him in a different way tonight. She wanted him; she wanted him to see her this way.

Edward drew a sharp intake of breath as Bella easily shed his shirt, exposing herself again to him. It was one thing to have her reveal herself to him in the hazy strip club of _Indulgences_ and another thing completely to see her naked by her own admission, the soft curves her body illuminated by the bare light of the waning moon. In his bedroom.

He reached out to touch her face, stroking the smooth flushed apple of her cheek with his thumb before letting his hand sensuously brush against her breasts and slide down the curve of her bare waist where it rested at her hip. Edward closed his eyes and expelled a shuddering sigh.

And then he reached down to scoop up his discarded shirt from the floor, pressing it into Bella's hands as he kissed her again more gently this time. "I want you. Make no doubt about that. But we can't do this, not tonight. Not like this." While there was no mistaking the husky note of male hunger in his voice, Edward was completely serious. "When I take you – and I promise, I will – I want it to be more than just some hasty fumble in the sheets."

His gaze met hers steadily. "I want you. And not just your body, Bella. _All _of you. And until you can learn to trust me like that… we shouldn't do this. Not yet."

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**Can I hear a collective 'awwwww?'**

**Also, I've posted a bunch of extras on my profile page. You should check them out. :)**


	29. Chapter 29

**Wow big responses to the last few chapters. Thanks for all your thoughts guys! If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask, I will answer your review. :)**

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Bella stared up at Edward as he placed the shirt back in her hands. In that moment, she recalled every time a man had been with her. Never once had they turned her down. Bella knew she was beautiful, she knew that men lusted for her body and here Edward was standing before her, telling her that while he did want her, now wasn't the right time.

But she had to learn to trust him.

Bella had never trusted anyone.

She looked down, felt the fabric of his shirt that he'd passed her in his hand.

She swallowed and took a step back. She felt foolish.

"I'm sorry…" she murmured. She turned away, fumbled with the opening of the shirt and pulled it back over her head. She glanced toward the window, she could see the horizon was slowly lighting, turning pink and yellow.

Edward shook his head, watching as the material slid back over her satin skin and hid her body from his eyes. He stepped forward, his touch light on her waist as he turned her to look at him. "Don't be sorry." His voice was soft. "I care about you Bella. And I do want you." His arms went around her and he pulled her close into his embrace.

He heard her stifled gasp as her body brushed against his hard arousal. The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile as he brushed her hair back from her face. "You have no idea how crazy you drive me. How much I want you. How much I've always wanted you."

Bella wanted nothing more than to attach herself to Edward. The words he was saying nearly causing her eyes to well up with tears once again. Edward_ wanted _her?

This bit of information was so surreal, Bella couldn't quite wrap her head around it. They'd always had an interesting relationship, the pair of them. Bella had always assumed that Edward found her annoying and that he couldn't stand her. She knew that he found her attractive. Most men did! But Edward had always been so standoffish; she'd always assumed that he didn't want anything to do with her. How wrong she must have been.

His lips brushed her forehead. And unlike the hot seductive words that fell from Edward's mouth, his kiss was gentle as he pressed his lips to her skin. "I think you should get some sleep. It's been a long day. You're welcome to stay here if you're afraid of waking up the girls." He offered as he took a step back. "I'll be outside."

"Wait!" She called out to him as he began to leave. She didn't want him to go.

"We… We don't have to do anything but… Could you stay? Here? With me?" Her voice faltered as though she realized what she was asking and that he very well might just turn her down.

"I don't want to be alone," she admitted after a long beat.

Edward hesitated, stopped in his tracks by her small-voiced request. He had thought it better if he just crashed on the sofa outside. It would ensure that he at least kept his hands to himself and off of Bella.

She had no idea how inviting she looked wearing his football shirt like that. It stirred things up in him. But when she said things like that… how could Edward possibly turn her down?

"Okay," he said finally. He moved to the large bed, helping Bella under the covers. He paused, his fingers stilling in their automatic habit of unbuttoning his shirt. He'd never been in this sort of situation before. If there was a half-clothed girl in his bed, taking his shirt off was practically a guarantee. "Sorry. Would you mind if…?" he gestured to his shirt.

She smiled. "I don't mind." Edward's hands continued to unbutton his shirt and she couldn't help but look at him. The tanned skin, the hard muscles that flexed as he pulled the shirt off of him and tossed it to the side. And the black ink of his tattoos.

Bella hadn't even known that Edward had tattoos, she realized that she'd never before seen him naked. The thought startled her.

As Edward climbed into bed, Bella shifted so that she was facing him.

"You know..." she murmured after he'd gotten himself comfortable. "It's kind of funny. You've seen me naked so many times, and yet this is the first I've ever seen you..." Her hand reached out to brush against the black ink of a tattoo that graced his arm. "I didn't know you had these..."

Edward closed his eyes briefly; enjoying the feel of Bella's finger gently brushing against the outline of the Celtic tattoo inked high on his arm.

"It's just the one." He murmured. "I got it a few years back with Emmett and Jasper. The patterns are somewhat similar."

Bella smiled at the mention of Jasper and Emmett having matching tattoos. She loved how close the three men were, to the point that they'd all gotten so drunk that they'd decided that getting tattoos together was a good idea. But it suited them.

He shifted; the muscles in his arm flexing as he pointed to the Celtic knot in the center of the design. "I had my mother's name added on later when I was a little less… well, drunk." The corner of his mouth lifted up in a small smile. In tiny black script, the letters 'Esme' were inked into a corner of the design. Unless you were looking for it, the addition blended in fairly well with the rest of the pattern. "She passed away when I was still in school." Edward said quietly in a sudden show of honesty.

Bella's smile faltered at the mention of his mother and her fingers traced the initials that she could only barely make out in the darkened room. It was beginning to get lighter and lighter outside.

There was a pause. "What about you?" he teased. "No tattoos?"

Her eyes lifted to meet his and she shifted around in bed, pulling her hair back she twisted her body so that Edward would be able to see her tattoo. "I've got these music notes, behind my ear… It's the start of one of my favourite songs."

A long pause stretched out between them. They were lying so close to one another, in the silence that filled the room Bella could hear his breaths. "I'm sorry about your mum," Bella whispered at last.

"I still miss her." He reached out to cover her small hand with his much larger one, rubbing the back of it with the pad of his thumb as he smiled a little wistfully.

"My parents died too… When I was very little."

His brows pulled together as he watched Bella's face. While he continued to miss and mourn for his mother who had passed away far too soon from cancer, he had been able to safely say he had a mother for almost all of his childhood – a mother he could still remember who loved him very much. Edward couldn't imagine what it must have been like for Bella to grow up with no parents at all.

"Who took care of you? After they were gone? You don't have any siblings right?" He searched his mind trying to recall if she had ever said she did. But if he wasn't mistaken, Bella was an only child.

"I was put into foster care," Bella revealed. "I didn't have any family. At least, none that came forward for me... I think I have an uncle that lives in Argentina or something..." Bella recalled the day that she'd found out about her parents.

She'd been in school, in class at the time; the teacher had been sitting with her helping her to write her own name when the principal of the school had come to her classroom door to call her out. She had sat Bella down and had eventually given her the news. Her parents had passed away; a truck had hit the side of their car. Her mother had still been alive when they'd taken her to the hospital but had died not too long after.

"My father had died upon impact."

Living in foster care was a hell in itself. She never belonged. She never felt a parent's love again.

"I left my foster parent's home when I was seventeen."

Edward's eyes softened as Bella revealed this to him. It was the more vulnerable part of her that he'd never seen before then, probably because she had always tried to keep it hidden from him and everyone else.

"I didn't know," he said quietly as he watched her. "You moved here then? How did you meet Rosalie? And when..." he hesitated,

"When did you start working at Indulgences?"

Bella's eyes drifted closed. Edward's arms came around her to hold her closer to his body, she breathed in the scent of him, feeling comforted by his nearness. She spoke with her eyes closed.

"I moved here after I left home and I met Rosalie in my second year of university. I'd already started working at Indulgences. She doesn't know it but she helped me get out of there more than anyone."

Edward's fingers were stroking her hair. The soothing, comforting feeling and this talk about her past reminded her of how her own mother used to do something similar before she died.

No sooner had he opened his mouth to continue this gentle train of thought did he realize that Bella had fallen asleep. He leant over to brush back the loose strands of hair that fell across her face and counted the rhythmic rise and fall of each breath she took.

Edward paused to adjust the covers neatly over them and brushed back her hair, relishing the feel of her warm body held against his as he thought that in many ways, falling asleep together with Bella now was a lot more intimate than having sex.

"Good night, Bella." He murmured, pressing his lips to the back of her head. And then as the faintest rays of light came slipping in through the crack in the curtain, Edward too drifted off to sleep.

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**Deep breaths! Phew. Lots of information. But then she fell asleep before we could find out anymore... Damn her.**


	30. Chapter 30

When he finally woke up, it was with a start. Edward always made a habit of setting his alarm clock and adhered to a strict sleeping schedule because of the shifts he pulled down at the fire station but today, he had woken up naturally. He sat up, noticed the rumpled sheets and the faint indentation of the pillow beside him before he remembered what had happened the night before.

But she was gone now. Edward looked around the room with a dismayed frown. Had she freaked out and left? That was his first assumption at least until he swung his legs over the side of the bed and started for the door. He was halfway there when he was hit with the distinct smell of freshly brewed coffee.

_Bella_.

He yanked the door open and headed straight to the kitchen where, true enough, Bella – still clad in his football jersey – was moving about the kitchen obviously looking for something. She hadn't noticed he was there so he took the opportunity to watch her as she worked and (in particular) admiring the way the hem of his shirt rose up high on her thighs when she bent over to fetch something from the fridge, sending him just the quickest glimpse of the smooth tight curve of her naked ass.

Eventually, Edward cleared his throat. "Good morning." He said huskily, smiling at the way she whirled around in surprise.

Bella had woken before Edward had that morning. At first she hadn't known exactly where she was or who she was with and her body had tensed when she'd felt the stirring arousal of a man pressing into her in his sleep from behind. It had taken her a few moments to remember that Edward had more or less rescued her from the events of last night and had allowed her to stay the night. It was him that she had woken next to.

Not wanting to wake him just yet, Bella had quietly and slowly slipped from his grasp and had padded silently into the kitchen, closing the door behind her. She'd stood in the kitchen for a while wondering on what she was going to do with herself. The events of the previous night were flooding back to her now and she knew that something had to be done. But she couldn't see many options for herself. She had no money to pay back her debt. She had no other job that she could take up that would pay as well as the gig she had at _Indulgences._ She still had a little over $10,000 to go. Which roughly equated to another three or so weeks at this job. She was so close. If she could just see this out then maybe she'd come out on the other side okay. And it wasn't as though she was alone now. Edward was here. If anything, he was someone she could talk to. _But that's all he can be, s_he reminded herself. Edward couldn't do anything more for her situation than be someone to talk to. And even that was pushing it. The dangers that implicating this on him brought were too great.

She blinked her eyes trying to remove the drowsy feeling she was suffering from a lack of sleep. Checking the time on the microwave she could see it was just a little after ten in the morning. She'd only managed to get five hours of sleep.

"Where's the damn coffee…" She murmured as she began to look around the kitchen. She found it easily enough and went about boiling the jug. Edward had a coffee machine but she wasn't about to start that up in case it woke Edward from his sleep. Also, she had no idea how to use it.

She was peering into the fridge looking for his milk when Edward strolled into the kitchen, clearing his throat and startling Bella. She still wasn't wearing any underwear and knew the view he must have seen. She straightened up the milk in hand, a warm blush heating her cheeks as Edward looked her over.

Since when did Bella get embarrassed by how she looked?

She herself cleared her throat. "Morning…" She offered him a shy smile. "Coffee?"

"Please!" Edward replied and took a seat across from Bella on the island. "Did you sleep well?" He asked.

"Yeah…" Bella felt awkward standing in Edward's kitchen. Tension hung between them. "Um… Thank you. For last night… For everything."

Edward stood up and moved around the kitchen island, his arms reaching out to pull Bella to him in a single move. "You don't have to thank me for that." He pulled away and gave her a smile which she returned.

"Here, let me get that. Why don't you sit down?"

Bella took a seat and for the next thirty minutes watched as Edward made her breakfast. She'd never had breakfast made for her like this and something about it made her ache.

But, she realized with a start, she liked it. She could almost pretend that Edward and she were together… That they had a life together and that this was a regular thing for them.

"Bon appetite." Bella smiled as Edward placed her plate in front of her.

"Sorry, I'm not much of a cook…" He'd made scrambled eggs, tomato and bacon. The eggs were a little runny, the bacon a little too crispy, and the tomato was singed.

Bella laughed and shook her head. "I'm sure it'll taste amazing."

By the time they'd finished the breakfast it was nearly eleven o'clock. Bella thanked Edward again as he walked her to the door and let herself in, slipping out of sight as she closed the door behind her.

He knew that things were messy but at least Bella would have the sense to know that she couldn't go back to _Indulgences._

Except that they hadn't really talked about that. They hadn't talked about what they were going to do from here. Edward had offered his money, but Bella had refused. Out of pride? He sighed, weary.

Maybe there was a way of getting the money to her anonymously?

But more importantly, who was this guy that had put Bella in her corner.

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**If this were a play I would say that would have to be the end of Act One.**

**Am going to take a short break. No longer than a week though. Promise! **

**Please review and let me know what you've been thinking of the story so far. Your comments will help me post faster. ;)**


	31. Chapter 31

**It's been a week for me, and a week for Bella and Edward since the last chapter update. I hope you've all been well. I celebrated Australia Day yesterday by watching nine episodes of Grey's Anatomy. **

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"For the last time, _no_. I won't let you," Edward said exasperatedly, his jaw clenching tightly as he stared broodily across the empty space of the girls' living room to where Bella stood with her arms crossed over her chest. Considering the fact that they weren't even technically dating yet, it was quite high-handed of Edward to be giving orders to her like this.

But he had a good reason.

Ever since the prior week when Bella had broken down and revealed the real reason for why she was working at _Indulgences_, Edward had been quite adamant about not letting her go back. It was bad enough that the men she worked for was having her strip at the club to pay back the outrageous amount of money she supposedly 'owed' them, but the last straw had been when they had taken her into the office and _touched _her. All while brandishing a gun; the obvious threat of what awaited Bella should she be unable to scrounge up the money.

It had been difficult keeping Bella away from her job. The only way he had managed to get her to skip Friday had been because it had been his day off and he had obstinately never let her out of his sight. Refusing to drive her had been one thing, but he knew that where there was a will there was a way, and if forced to it, she would have simply forked out the money for a damned cab and gone anyway. Edward's presence made any escapes pretty much impossible.

He had no such guarantees today though. He was due to start his shift at the fire station in a little less than half an hour and couldn't be around to see after Bella. Before, Edward always made it so that he drove them to _Indulgences_, staying for the whole night while Bella danced, and more or less looked out for her until it was time to drive them both home again. But after all that had transpired, the thought of having her go in there alone was enough to send him into a full panic mode. And if that wasn't bad enough, should the guys at the club try to pull off something similar akin to last week, Edward wouldn't be waiting there for Bella. He would be at the station or worse, on the job, and almost completely inaccessible.

What if something happened? _What if, what if, what if…_ those were the thoughts that pained him and plagued him, but Bella just didn't seem to understand all that. Or if she did, she was stubborn enough to ignore it all together.

"I don't think you understand." Edward growled. "I am _trying_ to keep you safe, Bella. The least you could do is go with it!"

"If you were actually trying to keep me safe, you'd let me go!" Bella growled back. She couldn't help that her voice level had risen considerably louder than Edward's. She was frustrated beyond belief. Edward just didn't understand. He _wasn't_ helping her. He thought that by keeping her from the men that she owed money to that her problems would just disappear, but it would only make them worse.

Edward had kept her home the night before, much to her dismay. He'd barred the door and had refused to let her out. It was for her own good, he'd said but Bella had nearly pulled her hair out.

She'd tried arguing with him until her voice grew hoarse. Then she'd tried seducing him, but he wasn't falling for that one either. She'd threatened bodily harm but Edward had raised an eyebrow and scoffed that she could try.

She'd told him that he was keeping her prisoner in her own home and that she would call the police, it was a bluff, but Edward had seen it and had suggested she go ahead and do just that.

She wasn't going to let Edward do the same thing tonight and he was currently in the process of trying to convince her to stay home again tonight, even though he had to go to work. Glancing at the clock, she could see that he was half an hour away from leaving and that Bella needed to be at the club, dressed and ready in an hour.

She'd tried being reasonable with Edward. She'd tried explaining herself, the situation that she was in because of him, but it hadn't worked. Bella was on the edge of snapping.

The louder Bella argued, the quieter Edward fell.

"God, Edward! Why are you being like this? You're not my father! You're not anything! You have no right to tell me what to do!" Hot tears had sprung to her eyes as she screamed at him.

She crossed the room so that she could stand in front of him. Edward looked angry. Beyond angry, there was no hiding what he was feeling. "I'm going. You can't stop me," she bit out.

There was silence.

"You've made it quite clear how little what I think matters to you." He said finally, his voice quiet. "Or what I mean to you in general… which is, as you've said, nothing."

There was a pause, his tone hardened with a touch of steel as he added, "But if you won't do this for me, do this for yourself. Stay at home, Bella."

Bella faltered at Edward's words. She'd hurt him. She realized this straight away. She debated on whether or not to assure him that he did in fact mean something to her… But ever since Bella had kissed him the previous weekend, Edward had made absolutely no move on her. The only indication that he cared as much as he did about her was by preventing her from going to the club. And in light of what had happened to her last weekend, Bella could understand why he'd not want her to go. In fact, if Rosalie knew she'd probably put up the same fight Edward was and she knew that her best friend held no romantic feelings for her.

Edward had promised her that he wanted her, but he'd done absolutely nothing to follow up on it, which made her doubt that there was even anything happening between them.

Maybe this was for the best. Pushing him away now would leave her free to go to the club. He was going to work; there was nothing he could do to stop her.

Except that he was causing her to be late. She needed to push him out the door.

So instead of amending what she'd said before, Bella said nothing at all. Her lips pursed in a thin line as she stared determinedly at him, despite the tightening in her chest that she felt at having him think that he meant nothing to her.

Anger clouded her vision; it was so easy for her to get worked up over things.

"Why are you being so unreasonable about this?" Her voice was quieted.

"Please. Just go. You're not going to stop me from this Edward." She crossed her arms over her chest defiantly and turned her head away. "I don't even know why I told you about all this in the first place."

From inside his pocket, a faint vibrating noise could be heard. Not looking away from Bella – who was pointedly not looking at him – he reached in and fished it out, pressing the bright green speaker button on the screen.

"Edward Cullen," he said curtly.

"_Hey, man. Where are you?" _Came Jasper's slightly crackly voice over from the other line. There was just an edge of concern in his voice. Understandable really. Edward was hardly ever late. If anything, he usually reported for duty a good fifteen minutes early, lounging around with Emmett and Jasper while the other men from their team trickled in.

"I got held up. I'll be there soon." He quickly disconnected the call and shoved his phone back in his pocket.

Edward turned back to the exasperating girl in front of him. "Bella." He clenched his jaw tightly but when Bella made no move to look his way again, he expelled a sharp sigh. He pinched the bridge of his nose and counted slowly up to ten until he found that he had managed to rein in his anger.

"Fine. I don't know why I even bothered in the first place." Edward's eyes narrowed as he crossed the room to yank the door open. "Stay, go – I don't give a damn."

He glanced over his shoulder at her turned back. "I won't disturb you anymore." He said stiffly. "Goodnight, Bella."

And then he was gone.

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**Two steps forward. One step back. **


	32. Chapter 32

**So for the next week or so I will now only be posting once a day that is until I have posted everything that I have written thus far. Thanks for all your reviews, and for favouriting and for story alerting. Your support means the world to me.**

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Bella tensed at his harsh words. She knew she probably deserved it, she knew that she'd started it by saying that he meant nothing to her, and then not taking the words back once they'd slipped from her mouth. But it still hurt to hear Edward give up, telling her that he no longer cared. But she didn't stop him. She watched him cross the room to the front door, her eyes finally meeting his angry ones as he slammed the newly fixed front door behind him. The same door that he'd crashed through the previous week when she'd been dangling precariously off the edge. He'd saved her life then; she knew he was just trying to do the same now.

She sighed, a shaky breath expelling from her lungs. He was gone. He wasn't here to stop her from leaving anymore… But she still felt unsure. Maybe Edward was right, maybe she should just avoid going to the club altogether. There was nothing stopping her from calling Riley, telling him that she quit, that she'd find another way to pay him back the money… Except that she couldn't think of any other way. Not one that was acceptable anyway. She wasn't going to take Edward's money, although he'd offered it to her.

This was _her_ mistake. She wasn't letting someone else pay the price for her.

Bella combed her fingers through her hair and sighed in frustration. Glancing at the clock she could see that she was late. Really late. The front door slammed shut and Bella glanced up startled. "What…?" She'd expected it to be Edward again, come back to maybe apologize, to tell her that he did care and that… But it wasn't. It was Rosalie.

Bella's brow furrowed with concern for her friend. She hadn't expected Rosalie to be home tonight, and judging from the looks of things, she wasn't happy.

"What's going on?" Bella asked Rosalie but her friend merely shook her head.

"Just Emmett… I don't want to talk about it right now, maybe later?" Rosalie kicked off her heels and slipped her handbag on the counter of the kitchen. "What's going on with you, I thought you had to work tonight?" Rosalie frowned and glanced at the clock.

"I did… I mean… I do. Just, Edward… He was going to give me a lift before he left for work… But, well… We got into a fight and…" Bella shrugged her shoulders. "I don't really want to talk about it." Her words echoing Rosalie's.

"Huh… Guy troubles for both of us then?" Rosalie dug around in her handbag and a second later came out with the keys to her car. "Here… Just take mine."

Bella caught the tossed keys and looked up startled. "What? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm not going anywhere tonight. I'll probably dig out an old movie and some popcorn and spend my evening on the couch… Just don't sell my car." Rosalie chuckled as though she thought she was being funny.

Bella grimaced.

Not wanting her friend to think twice about lending her car out, Bella quickly ducked into her room to grab her gear. "Thanks Rose! I owe you one!" And ran out the front door. If she hurried, she could make it to the club without losing too much time.

The drive to work was quick and uneventful which Bella was immensely grateful for as it meant that by the time she'd arrived, she wasn't as late as she thought she would be. All thanks to Rosalie.

Pulling into the parking lot, Bella could see Riley standing near the back entrance, smoking. Bella frowned, not because it was unusual to see Riley smoking out the back, but because she hadn't expected that she'd have to see him this soon. Another girl was with him, which also wasn't unusual but made Bella feel somewhat at ease. Riley wouldn't try anything with other people around.

She grabbed her gear and locked the car up and with her head held as high as she could manage, she walked toward the back entrance and passed Riley who watched her with mild interest, although the girl who was with him seemed to be holding most of it.

She knew she'd need to speak to him. She knew that she couldn't keep this up. The past few weeks had made her become reliant on having Edward in the club to make her feel safe. The chances of him continuing to come now seemed to have disappeared altogether.

She got ready in silence, she went through her regular routine of doing her hair and wig, make up and dressing although she chose an outfit that was somewhat more modest than what she usually wore. She knew tonight would be hard. Her heart just wasn't in it.

And then the night began.

Bella did her best, she managed to charm and smile and dance for the customers enough that she was making the same amount of money she normally made. But she hated every second of it. At least when Edward was here, she could glimpse over to where he was sitting and she'd have their session together to look forward to… That definitely wasn't going to happen tonight.

Her mind drifted back to all the things Edward had said. He'd promised that he could keep her safe. But what about him? Bella wasn't so much worried about herself as she was worried for his safety. If word got to Riley that she'd told someone about her predicament, especially after how he'd threatened her… Edward was a good man. He didn't deserve to be caught up in her mess. But a big part of her wanted to trust him.

At the very least, maybe he could help her raise the funds she needed to make. It wasn't like there was very much to go… Surely there were avenues she hadn't yet looked down (although it felt as though she'd tried everything else already).

Bella was collecting the money from a client when she decided to make her mind up. She'd quit. She'd go to Riley, she'd tell him she was done with this job and then she'd promise to get him the money some other way. All Riley wanted was the money, it shouldn't matter how she got it.

She got dressed, slipping her clothes back on over her head and went in search of Riley. He was in his office, as was initially predicted and Bella raised her hand to knock. His voice called out for her to come in and Bella opened the door.

She didn't close it behind her as a precaution although she knew Riley wouldn't try anything with her while the night was still so young. There were too many people around.

"Where were you last night?" Riley was pissed off at her. She could tell instantly. "You owe me two grand this week."

"And I'll get it to you, I promise." Bella did her best to keep her voice steady but her hands shook with her nerves.

"Why aren't you out there working it then?"He looked her over.

"Well… That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about… I…" She bit her lip. She could do this. She could look him in the eye and tell him. "I'm quitting. I- I can't do this anymore. I'll… I promise you I will still pay you back in increments, the same amount every week, but I can't do it with this job."

A long pause stretched out between them. "And tell me how you plan on doing that." Riley didn't believe she could do it. "You still owe me over fifteen grand. Don't' tell me you won the lottery jackpot." He snorted.

"I've got a plan." Bella managed to say evenly. Riley snorted again in reply.

"Tell you what. Bring me half of what you owe me next week and we'll call it even… You don't have to keep working here." Riley leaned back in his chair. "But you have to stay the rest of the night … I haven't got enough girls to cover you and you still need to make up for last night."

Bella's eyes widened, her shoulders relaxed. She didn't know how she was going to get the rest of the money by next week but she had a whole week to figure it out. If it meant she didn't have to work here anymore… "Yes! Of course. Thanks Riley." She gave him a tremulous smile and turned on her heel before he could change her mind. And Edward had told her _not _to come tonight! Riley was obviously feeling magnanimous and Bella was feeling as though a two ton weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Maybe he felt bad about what had happened last week?

She left his office, shutting the door behind her. There were a few girls in the hallway, including Bree, the waitress who shot her a tremulous smile

With that weight of her shoulders, the rest of Bella's night went smoothly and without a hitch. They were busy and she managed to collect nearly fifteen hundred and dropped the money off to Riley's office who had counted the money and had told her she'd done well, leaving Bella's mind reeling. Who was this man and what had they done with the real Riley? Not that she was complaining! She only wanted to thank whoever had kidnapped him.

She smiled at him as she bid him goodnight. "Drive safe!" His answering smile didn't quite meet his eyes.

The car park was mostly already deserted of cars by the time Bella made her way outside. She checked her surroundings carefully before venturing into the dark, she clutched at her keys… She could never be too careful. She breathed a sigh of relief as she managed to open the driver's side of the car and shut the door behind her.

The roads were mostly deserted at this time in the morning and Bella had an easy drive home from here. She knew she'd be safe in bed within twenty minutes.

She pulled out of the car park and started down the road.

It wasn't until she was approaching the first T intersection that she realized something was wrong. The intersection was located at the bottom of a steep hill and she'd tapped the brakes to slow down as she began to approach it. But her brakes weren't working! Glancing down at her speedometer she could see that she was going just over forty miles per hour and the fact that she was racing down a steep hill wasn't helping matters!

"Oh God…" She tensed her body as she tried to turn the corner anyway… Maybe she'd be able to make it; maybe once she got onto a flat road she could slow her car down somehow…

But as the wall of the brick building situated at the bottom of the road rushed up before the car, she realized it was no good.

She hoped death wouldn't hurt too much.

* * *

**Uh oh.**


	33. Chapter 33

**Sorry for leaving the last chapter on such a cliff hanger. Hopefully this post will make up for it?**

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A mixture of anger, guilt and regret overwhelmed Edward with each step he took away from Bella's door. He questioned his last words to her, which had been harsh and cutting, meant to wound her in the same way her careless words had hurt him.

But it was wrong of him. He realized that now as he sank into his usual seat opposite Emmett and Jasper at the Kings Cross Road fire station. So what if Bella didn't like him the way he liked her? She knew how he felt about her, how much he cared about her. He had voiced his feelings before. The only thing that kept Edward from reaching out and pulling her into his bed to finish what they had started last Friday night was his staunch desire that sex should not be the foundation of their relationship. It was bad enough that he had come to her at the strip club, had paid her to dance for him in ways he didn't think she would have ever consented to doing for him in daylight…

The last thing he wanted was for Bella to think that he only wanted her for her body. That it was the heated lust that stirred in his loins that he wanted to quench, rather than the simple, yet deep satiating pleasure of waking up to Bella's face every morning, knowing that she was his and his alone.

Saying things like he had… it had been a blatant lie. Edward _did_ care. He'd always care. Even if she didn't like him half as much as he did her, even if everything he did made her end up hating him, it would be worth it if it meant keeping Bella safe – if it meant protecting her.

And how would leaving Bella alone at home like that accomplish that?

"Hey." Emmett looked up from his hand of cards after a few moments had passed and he had still not greeted them. "You're late."

"I got held up at home." Edward said laconically, his eyes sweeping over the poker game that Jasper was, unfortunately, losing quite horribly at. He paused, glancing back towards Emmett. "What's up with you?"

The usually jovial man was quiet tonight, the expression on his face almost miserable; certainly a sharp contrast to the game he was currently winning. "It's nothing." Emmett muttered.

Momentarily distracted from his own worries, Edward's eyebrows rose at his words. "Doesn't seem like nothing." If anything, it looked like someone had run over Emmett's dog.

He looked towards Jasper who gave a little shrug of his shoulders before offering helpfully, "He had a fight with Rose."

Only the faintest flicker of surprise crossed Edward's face before he schooled his features again and turned to Emmett. "Oh yeah? You two… alright?" He asked carefully. He wasn't quite sure how to phrase his words, let alone what to ask Emmett. And judging from Jasper's expression, their friend had suffered the same dilemma as he had. First, the light, 'devil-may-care' attitude that Emmett had fixed on now was confusing because he wasn't sure if it was something he wanted to talk about. Especially not here at the station around their team. And second… since when did any of the little squabbles or rows Emmett had with the women he took to bed bother him?

Of course, Edward knew it was different with Rosalie. They had an interesting, albeit, slightly confusing relationship. If you could even really call it a relationship, that is. As far as Edward was aware, they were just two people that enjoyed each other's company and had sex. _A lot of sex_. Being one of Emmett's best friends, Edward knew that he confided in Rosalie and found it easy and pleasant to be with her. There was a trust and intimacy there that had never been present in any of the flings he'd noted Emmett in having before.

"_I don't know."_ Emmett said finally and in a manner as vague as any of the times they'd brought the subject of the two of them up. And then, as if sensing that his gloominess was extending towards his mates, he waved a hand and invited them to turn their attention back to the game. _"It's fine. You know, women."_ He made an attempt to sound breezy as he surveyed his cards. _"Such difficult, stubborn creatures…"_

"Yeah, you've got that right. Her and Bella are just two peas in a damned pod." Edward's tone was a little darker than he meant it to be as he settled back in his chair. Jasper quirked a brow at him but when he made no move to elaborate, allowed the comment to slide by.

Not long after the poker game had ended, the alarm sounded and the boys quickly fell into their places, speeding out into the dark night. It was a dumpster fire that had occurred at a warehouse.

Edward was reminded of another common saying among fire fighters being that they risked a lot to save a life, risked a little to save little, and risked nothing to save nothing. In the sense of this incident, it seemed that there was no need to be all up in arms about something as ostensibly insignificant as burning trash. Certainly not something a whole team of men should be carrying on about, especially since there weren't many civilians around to be injured. But as the contents inside dumpsters are ultimate unknown, it was possible that they contained hazardous materials that could be damaging to the crew and any bystanders.

A fire was a fire, and they knew their duty.

Constantly in action, Edward had very little time to brood over Bella – something he hated and was simultaneously grateful for. It bothered him that he couldn't call her or text her, or have any real way of reaching her really while he was on the job. None of the men could keep their phones on them when they were outside the station for policy and safety reasons… not to mention the fact that hand phones (especially the kind they made today) weren't exactly hardy stuff. The plastic would probably melt in their pockets before they got within five feet of a raging fire and render it completely useless. The only way Bella would be able to reach him was if she called straight to the fire station then those that remained at the station would call it through to the radio in the truck. Something she could hardly have the time to do in the event of a true emergency, Edward thought glumly.

It was close to four in the morning and nearing the end of her shift, he realized.

_It's okay_; he thought as his team successfully contained another dumpster fire and started to pack up to go. _I'll give her a call when I reach the station_. Bella could hurl curses down the phone at him all she wanted, but as long as she picked up the phone and he could tell she was all right, he would be good with that.

But no sooner had they turned away on the way back to the station when a call came over the crackling radio unit directing them to a vehicular collision in Tenderloin.

"Drunk driver you reckon?" Jasper asked as they sped off, siren lights flashing, into that direction.

"_I hope not."_ Emmett murmured and Edward knew he was recalling the scene of another recent accident last week that they'd been called to where the act of one drunk driver had caused one car to swerve into another car's lane and killing all the inhabitants in that second car – including the two infant twins strapped in the backseat – upon impact. The details were streaming in over the radio as they raced on; the loud wail of sirens accompanying them every step of the way.

"What did he say?" Edward yelled, not catching the relay on the radio.

"Something about a blue Pontiac. Collided straight on into a building at the bottom of an intersection…" Jasper called back. "And – oh no, it's coming up now. On our left, boys."

The truck screeched to a stop and the whole crew immediately jumped into action. All except Emmett that is, who stopped about five feet away from the wrecked car, his face a complete mask of horror.

"Emmett, c'mon! We've got to move!" Jasper urged, brushing past him to help the other men begin the process of removing the roof of the vehicle. There was only one person in the car, a young woman trapped, unconscious between the airbag and the seat.

"Edward…" Emmett's face was white. He seemed barely able to move his lips.

"What is it, mate?"

He shook his head and pointed to the license plate of the mangled car, barely visible under the dented wreckage. "Rosie." He managed to choke. "Rose – this is Rosalie's car."

"What?" Edward exclaimed, his head swerving back to look. It _had _seemed familiar when they had driven up to it. But what would Rosalie be doing down in Tenderloin at this unholy hour?

"No, this is – this is her car. I know this is her car! This is her car, Edward. Oh God. No. No. We have to – I have to… Rose –"

"Wait, Emmett—"

But he had already run off, fiercely pulling aside Leo who was cutting away the posts of the car for a total roof removal. "We need to get her out of there!" Edward heard him shouting as he followed swiftly behind in his friend's distraught wake. "Cut these seatbelts! We need to cut the seatbelts!"

"Edward – what is it? What's wrong?" Jasper asked, grabbing onto Edward's arm as they darted to the other side of the car to cut through the mangled steel posts. "Who's in the car?"

"Rosalie. This is Rose's car. Quick – help me hold this. Yank it out when I say so."

"Wait – Rose? Is he sure?"

"Yes, he's sure." Edward said impatiently. "Jasper, c'mon. We need to move fast. Emmett saw the plates. This is her car. Rosalie's trapped inside." He had never in his life seen Emmett so beside himself before, especially in an emergency situation like this.

"_No, she's not."_

"What do you mean 'no, she's not'?" He gritted his teeth as he cut through the metal, the blades screeching against the posts.

"Edward," Jasper hesitated as he supported the frame of the car as Edward continued to saw on through. "I was on the other side helping Matt cut through the door when we realized we had to get in through the roof. It wasn't Rosalie who was in the seat."

"Then who the hell was in the seat?"

"A girl with dark brown hair."

Edward felt his heart stop beating as the blood drained away from his face in the same way Emmett's had only a few moments earlier. "I didn't get to see her face, but unless Rose dyed her hair pretty recently – what the hell? EDWARD!"

"Move!" Edward found himself shouting as he tore to the other side of the car. "Get out of the way!"

"Edward, what the—"

"It's not Rosalie. It's not Rosalie, Emmett." The look on his face was desperate as he grabbed the cutter from Leo's hands, forcing the last post to slice away the last bits of metal. "It's _Bella_."

* * *

**Oh. Another cliff hanger... Sorreeee!**


	34. Chapter 34

**A new record on the amount of reviews for a chapter! Thanks guys! Some of you pointed out that I wasn't very sorry for leaving the last chapter on such a cliff hanger... *blinks innocently***

* * *

Chaos ensued as Edward and the other firemen worked to get Bella out of the wreckage. The seatbelts were cut, the airbag punctured and Bella's body needed to be supported to keep her in the seat as the men worked around her. Edward gingerly lifted her out, her body was limp in his arms but she was still breathing.

An ambulance had arrived on the scene just as they had finished cutting through the material and a stretcher was ready and waiting for Edward.

Everything blurred by quickly but Bella was unconscious to it all. The side of her face was red with blood from a large cut on her forehead from where she had most likely hit it against the side of the car before the airbags deployed.

A fuss was made when Edward insisted that he ride in the back of the ambulance with her, which they eventually consented to. He watched her the entire way there, staring at her pale face and the oxygen mask that they'd placed over her face as the paramedics tried to get a hold of her vitals and work out what it was she needed.

"Her pulse is barely palpable... She's suffered too much trauma… Heart rate is dropping… There's respiratory distress… Come on sweetheart, keep breathing for us… We're nearly there… She's losing too much blood… Apply pressure to the wounds…"

The ambulance pulled up to a stop outside the hospital and Bella was rushed on her gurney into the hospital, Edward hot on their heels.

"I'm sorry, sir… You'll have to wait here. We'll come see you once she's stable."

Bella's gurney was pushed through the hospital into a separate room where a doctor was already on hand to begin the attempt at stabilizing Bella's condition.

Edward paced the waiting room, his hands alternating between the urge to rake through his hair in impatience and crossing over across his chest. Jasper and Emmett had returned to the fire station with the rest of the crew, promising to drop by with his things once their shift was officially over. From the look on Edward's face, they knew him well enough to know that the only way he was going to leave the hospital was if security forcibly dragged him out.

It felt like a lifetime before one of the nurses came to fetch Edward. "Is she okay?" He asked immediately as she led him down the winding hallway. But the nurse only smiled at him and kindly assured him that the doctor would be there to explain everything shortly.

Bella was laid out on the white hospital bed by the time Edward stepped into the small room. Her bloody clothes had been taken away, replaced with the typical flimsy gowns that they gave in hospitals and someone – one of the nurses he guessed – had thoughtfully cleaned her face as well.

He moved to the side of the bed, his heart twisting painfully in his chest as he stared down at her.

"Don't worry. She's just asleep."

Startled, Edward twisted around to see a white-coat doctor step into the room, sliding the door shut behind him. The older gentleman smiled and reached out to shake his hand. "Dr Jacob Black. That was some fast saving you did back there, young man."

"Edward Cullen." He murmured in response, "And no. It wasn't just me. It was the whole team, sir. I take no credit."

The doctor's eyes softened from behind his silver frames as he acknowledged this before turning back to his clipboard. "You're a friend of Ms. Swan, you said?"

"Yes, sir. Is she… is she okay?"

"Quite fine. Especially considering the kind of crash she was in," Doctor Black assured him. "We gave her some painkillers for her injuries when she came in, but she should come around soon. Her head looks a lot worse than it is, bandaged up like that. She has a concussion, she also had a large laceration on her lower leg, she lost quite a bit of blood..." He cleared his throat. "We nearly lost her, but we were able to revive her on the table."

"Oh my God."

The doctor continued. "But apart from that, just some cuts and extensive bruising around her chest and face. There's some light swelling on her wrist, but nothing is broken. And we've given her some blood to replenish what she lost."

Edward closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief, sending up a prayer of thanks to whatever higher being was up there watching over Bella for him like that.

"We'd still like to keep her through the day and overnight for observation though."

"Yes, of course. I understand." He said immediately, nodding. After a few more parting remarks, the doctor left and Edward and Bella were alone again. He sank into the chair by her bedside, wishing he could take her hand in his but not wanting to disturb the various tubes and things she had been hooked up with. Instead, he settled for stroking the small piece of exposed skin on her arm that was not bruised or covered in bandages.

"Oh Bella. You crazy girl," Edward whispered, his eyes pained.

* * *

**Well there you go, she's still alive, and she's going to be okay. But you knew I wasn't going to kill her, right?**


	35. Chapter 35

**Sorry this one took a little bit to get up. Weekends are usually more unpredictable and hard to find time to post. **

* * *

Late afternoon light flickered through the curtains of the ward that Bella was peacefully asleep in. Edward remained by her bed watching her for any signs of stirring but it wasn't until late afternoon that she began to show signs of life. Her eyelids flickered and her body moved and abruptly stopped as she felt pain. _Moving hurts, why? _The thought flickered through her head as she opened her eyes, but even opening her eyes hurt. She groaned.

She could hear a beeping noise. Maybe a truck was reversing outside her apartment? But it didn't sound like an ordinary truck…

She eventually managed to open her eyes and peer out around her to see that Edward was sitting by her bed looking at her with concern. She frowned. What was Edward doing in her bedroom?

_Wait._

She wasn't in her bedroom. "Where…?" She tried to say but her throat was too dry.

"Bella? How are you feeling?" Edward asked her, leaning over so that he could gently rub her arm in a soothing manner but everything hurt too much for it to make any difference.

"I hurt… It hurts… Why –" She croaked. Edward handed her a glass of water and held it to her lips for her to sip. The water helped wet her mouth and she could finally form the words she'd been trying to say although she felt so drowsy. She wanted to close her eyes and fall back asleep…

"What happened? Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital, sweetheart. You were in a car crash…"

Bella's eyes widened at the news and her body lifted off the bed a little. "What? Oh my god… I… I don't remember… Was anyone hurt?"

Edward reached up to her head to gently smooth her hair back, the movement also forcing her back onto the pillows beneath her. He frowned, concern evident in his expression. "It was just you, sweetheart… You don't remember?"

Bella's eyelids fluttered close and opened again as she tried to stay awake.

She tried to remember what happened, the last thing she remembered.

"I remember going to the club… You… We had a fight? I went to the club anyway… Rose's car… She lent it to me for the night. And I worked my shift and then… Then I left… And… And that's it? I don't remember anything else." The pieces were coming to her in bits. There was so much of the night that she couldn't recall and she was so tired. Her eyes fluttered close again, she needed to rest them. Just for a second.

"It's okay… It'll come back…"

Bella's eyes opened again and she groaned as the pain in her body hit her hard.

"I hurt… It hurts…"

Edward frowned and quickly stood to his feet but was back in a second with a nurse in pink scrubs.

"Bella, I'm going to give you something for your pain," the nurse was telling her. Bella couldn't even nod her head to tell her okay, her eyes closed again and as the nurse filled the tube in her hand with clear liquid, Bella began to once again drift off.

The next time Bella's eyes opened it was because she could hear voices. The voices of her friends, she recognized them. The sun was higher in the sky and Rosalie, Alice and Edward were standing together on the other side of the room talking in hushed voices.

"Do you have any idea how this happened?" Alice was asking.

"I don't… She doesn't remember. Maybe she fell asleep at the wheel?" Edward replied trying to find answers to the million questions they all had about her.

"Oh God… She could have died… How bad was it Edward?" Rosalie was crying.

"Pretty bad. It's a miracle that she's not worse off."

Bella stirred, she still felt drowsy but she no longer felt any pain. That was a good thing right?

"She's awake."Alice rushed toward the bed to stand beside Bella's bed.

"Rose? Alice?" Bella slurred.

"How are you feeling, Bella?"

"Great," Bella replied. "Except I feel like my drink has been spiked." The feeling was actually far too similar to the high she'd often felt when years ago when she'd used heroin.

Edward stood in the background allowing Rosalie and Alice to get in and see their friend.

"Oh… God… Rosalie! Your car. I'm so sorry!" Bella said as she realized that she had been the one to crash her car.

"God, shut up, Bella. Don't even worry about that… I'm just so thankful you're okay!"

"Do you remember anything? Do you remember crashing?" Alice asked her eyes wide.

Bella shook her head and blinked. "Do you know what happened?"

"No… Emmett called me; he said that they'd been called to an accident… That you were the driver…" She trailed off.

Alice was looking back at Edward. "Edward got you out of there. Then you were rushed to hospital…"

Edward? Edward had gotten her out of the wreck. "My hero…" she murmured her eyes fluttering close again. "He always saves me. He saved me from the balcony. He saved me from Riley. He saved me from the car…"

The morphine was obviously doing its work and had effectively stripped Bella of her verbal filter.

Alice and Rosalie exchanged puzzled glances as they looked back at Edward. "What? Riley? What happened with Riley?" Rosalie asked.

* * *

**Yes, Edward. What happened with Riley?**


	36. Chapter 36

Edward's eyes darkened at the mention of Riley's name. So he _was_ right. It had been Riley. It had been Riley the entire time. And after Edward had asked Bella, she had blatantly lied to him like that…

He took a deep breath, trying to rein in his temper as he cast the bedridden brunette an annoyed look. He would have words with her later, he decided. When she was feeling better. It would do no good to upset her again now when she was like this.

Instead, Edward turned to Alice and Rosalie who were now staring at him with blank, confused faces. He grimaced. What was he supposed to say? Bella had been horrified at the thought of her best friends even knowing what she worked as on the weekends. As upset as Edward was with her, he couldn't betray her secrets now, right?

But before he could open his mouth to speak, there came a loud rap on the door. They all turned as the large pane of frosted glass slid open and Emmett and Jasper stepped inside the room.

"Jazz!" Alice's eyes lit up as he came closer to wrap his arms around her, reaching down to kiss her quickly on the lips.

"Hey Alice. Hey Rose, Edward." Jasper nodded. His gaze turned towards the bed, "She hasn't woken up yet?"

"What? No, she's awake—" Surprised, Edward looked back to the bed to see that Bella had fallen back to sleep. Her long brown hair spilled around her delicate shoulders like a cape. "Oh. Well, no. She was awake a few minutes ago." He qualified.

"Rose." Emmett had come up behind Rosalie, his hand reaching out to brush her shoulders in what appeared to be a soothing gesture as he noticed her wet cheeks. His gaze softened and he looked like he was about to say something when Rosalie turned back to Edward.

"What happened with Riley?" she insisted.

"Who's Riley?" Jasper blinked, his arm still slung around Alice's waist.

"Bella's friend. He owns a bar and she helps him out on the weekends working there." She murmured.

"Was that why she was coming back from Tenderloin at 4 am?" Emmett's eyebrows rose. "She keeps late hours. He must be a good friend."

"Hardly." Edward said darkly.

All eyes turned to him in surprise. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "The thing is… Riley's not her friend. And he doesn't own a bar. He owns a club… a club that Bella works at." He hesitated. "… as a stripper."

Shocked faces stared back at Edward as they all processed this new bit of information. Rosalie's eyes flickered back to Bella who was out to the world, sleeping peacefully and unaware of anything going on around her.

"What? No!" Rosalie breathed. Emmett's grip on her shoulder had tightened a fraction. "You're wrong." Rosalie denied. "I would have known if Bella was… If she was… Stripping?" She shook her head in disbelief.

"I did always wonder about those costumes she had…" Alice murmured her eyes as wide as Rosalie's and quite unable to take in the news that one of her new friends moonlighted as an exotic dancer.

"I've known Bella for years, Edward. This isn't something she'd do. Not willingly anyway…" Her eyes widened. "Oh God. She isn't… She isn't being forced into this is she?" Her eyes darted between Edward and Bella as she tried to process what was going on. The past few weeks flashing through her mind. Bella had always been late on making payments for rent and bills… It had been a topic of tension in the house for quite some time; one that had begun to severely affect their friendship to the point that Rosalie had even wondered what would happen if she had to ask Bella to move out. Fortunately, Alice coming on board had helped ease things somewhat.

Rosalie's mind was scattered with thoughts as she tried to take everything in. Bella had lied to her. Bella, her best friend of four years, had _lied_ to her.

"_It's a shoe addiction. I'm getting help, I swear." _Bella's words came back to her. Rosalie tried to remember even seeing any shoes in the apartment. When was the last time she'd even seen Bella go shopping? She couldn't remember… Was that a lie as well? Surely Bella wasn't stripping to feed an addiction to shoes.

Why hadn't Bella come to Rosalie? Rosalie could have helped her out… They could have all gone and rented a cheaper apartment. And yet, she hadn't…

"Tell me. Edward, you have to tell me everything you know… If Bella's in trouble…"

Everyone's eyes flickered to Bella's body lying on the bed as she shifted in her sleep.

"Uh… Maybe we should head out into the corridor," Jasper murmured.

Edward agreed and one by one, they slipped from the room to go to the little seating area not far down the corridor. There, he swiftly explained everything that had happened. How he had found Bella at _Indulgences_, what Riley's part in all this was, and why Bella owed such a staggering amount of money. He, of course, conveniently left out that the majority of the information he had gleaned from Bella had been from the dances she'd given him… He didn't think it was particularly necessary for the girls' to know that.

"I don't like this Riley guy." Jasper scowled, his arm around Alice tightening as Edward finished his explanation. "He didn't have anything to do with the accident did he?"

Rosalie's eyes widened, "What you mean… you mean like… sabotage it?"

"You said she fell asleep at the wheel though, Edward?" Alice asked.

"I thought she did," he corrected. "It's late… I usually drive her back from these things. She's usually so sleepy…" Edward frowned. It had never occurred to him that Bella's accident might have been anything but an accident. He looked up at Emmett who looked like he too was thinking it over.

"You shouldn't put it past this Riley guy." Emmett finally admitted, "If he's tried to hurt Bella like that once… and threatened to kill her as well, you said? And if she was asleep, she would have driven straight into the brick wall… But she'd turned the car; she tried to make the corner. Maybe she was sleepy and misjudged the corner. Or maybe he fucked with her car."

"We'll find out soon enough," Edward said grimly. "Police roped off the area earlier this morning. It's a strange accident, to be sure. They'll tell us if any foul play was involved."

The conversation finished, they returned to Bella's room to check if she had woken up again yet. The doctor had promised that after he ran a few more tests just to check on her head, she would be free to leave the next morning.

Checking his watch, Edward saw that it was getting late into the afternoon.

"Why don't we go get lunch?" Alice suggested. "We've been here all day and Bella's not going anywhere."

* * *

**Well now they know!**

**Let's hope the police report can turn something up...!**


	37. Chapter 37

**I'll need a short break after this chapter. You should probably all know that I'm getting married in a couple of months, and so that means a lot more time planning a wedding and a lot less time writing a story. Either I can do a chapter every other day or wait a week and you should have your chapters daily. Let me know what you prefer.**

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When Bella did eventually wake again it was the next day. Alice and Rosalie were once again huddled around her bed. The doctor had given her the all clear to go and a nurse had removed the various tubes that they'd lodged in her.

Edward stood in the background, his arms crossed over his chest. Rosalie and Alice hovered close by.

Bella eyed her friends warily. They were being much too quiet considering everything that had happened and Bella wondered why they weren't peppering her with questions like they had yesterday when she'd woken up.

There was a light knock at the door and they all looked up to see a woman dressed in a dark blue shirt and pants with black braid, brass buttons which were stamped with the City Seal and "SF POLICE". "Excuse me. I am Officer Angela Webber. I'm with the police department that did the forensic report on your car." She looked around at all the people in the room then back to Bella. "Would you mind if I speak with you privately?"

"Uh, yeah." She looked at her friends but they needed no prompting in getting out of there. In a moment they were gone, Edward closed the door behind them, not before asking her to let him know if she needed anything.

"What's wrong?" Bella asked the officer. She looked the woman over, her expression was devoid of much emotion, but there was something there that told Bella that something wasn't right. "Is this about the crash?"

"Yes, actually." She held up a piece of paper in her hand. "It's a report from the crash scene investigation and from the forensics done on the car." She looked Bella over, taking in her injuries. "You were quite lucky to survive." She shook her head. "A crash like that..." she trailed off and looked down at her report.

"I seem to be doing a lot of surviving lately..." Bella murmured.

Officer Webber looked down at her report. "I'm really sorry to have to tell you this, but it looks as though your brake lines were deliberately cut."

"Cut? What do you mean? Somebody cut the lines of the car? That's why I crashed?"

"I have it noted that you don't remember much of what happened. Has that changed? Do you remember anything from the collision?"

Bella shook her head. "I remember getting into the car. I drove out of the car park... And that's it. The next thing I know, I'm waking up here."

"Ms. Swan, will it be okay if I get a full report of what happened from you? You were a little bit out of it yesterday to give any details, but we were able to ascertain a few details from your friend, Edward Cullen. He was the firefighter that found you at the scene."

"Edward found me?"

"Can I ask where you were driving from?"

"Work, I was at work." Bella grabbed at the sheets and balled them in her fists.

"Where do you work Ms. Swan?"

Bella held her breath for a moment as she battled with herself on what exactly she could tell the police officer. She should tell her everything? Or just the bare minimum?

"I work at _Indulgences."_

"I see." Officer Webber paused. "Do you know of anyone who might want to see you hurt or dead?"

"I work in a strip club. There's probably a lot of people that don't like me."

"When will you be going back?"

"I won't be, I handed in my resignation the night of the crash."

Officer Webber wrote that down on her notepad.

Questions of that nature continued for a while, until the officer sighed and leaned back. "Are you sure there is nobody that you know of that would have done this to you?"

Bella shook her head. She'd given the police officer enough information that if she did a little digging, she might be able to work things out herself. Riley couldn't accuse her of handing him over to the cops. At least, that's what she hoped as the police officer stood to her feet, handed her card, got Bella to assure her that she would call if she came up with anymore information and left.

Bella leaned back into pillow, closed her eyes and sighed.

Rosalie and Alice came back, neither questioned her on what the police officer had said to her. They helped her out of bed and into her clothes. Her body hurt. The bruising on her chest from the seat belt and air bag hurt the most.

"Jazz & Emmett said they could give us all a lift back." Alice was saying as they made their way out to the main lobby. Bella grimaced as she realized that the three of them were now carless, thanks to her. Alice didn't have a driver's license.

"I'm sorry about your car, Rose." Bella said but Rosalie brushed it away, saying it was fine, repeating the same words as she had earlier. She was just happy that Bella was alright. Except Rosalie wouldn't meet her gaze as she spoke.

"Hey, Bella… How are you feeling?" Jasper asked as they met him out at his car. Even he seemed to be eyeing her warily, his eyes flickered over her almost nervously. She didn't have leprosy. What was the big deal?

"A bit sore… You know." She shrugged. What was she supposed to say?

They all split up in the car park when Emmett and Edward moved toward Emmett's car and Jasper ushered the girls towards his. They all arranged to meet back at the girl's apartment.

They arrived home without incident, Bella was still feeling sore and tired and Rosalie helped Bella to her room. Her body was so stiff, she could barely even stretch her arms out to take her jeans off, a side effect from the car accident and so Rosalie helped her out of them.

Silence stretched out between the two girls until eventually Rosalie spoke. "Edward told me." Rosalie said.

"What?" Bella questioned, her heart rate picking up. What had Edward told Rosalie?

"He told me what you've been doing… Bella… Why didn't you tell me?" Rosalie was hurt more than anything else.

Bella's body ached. But a headache was quickly forming to add to the collection of aches and pains Bella felt in her body.

"What exactly did he tell you?" She asked.

"Everything… You're a… You're a _stripper, _Bella?" Rosalie shook her head as though she couldn't quite believe this new bit of news.

"It's not what you think…"

"He told me everything, Bella. He told me about the money you owe. Why didn't you just come to me?"

"I didn't –"

"You didn't what? You didn't trust me? You didn't want me to know because why? You thought I'd think less of you? Bella, you're my best friend. I'm sorry. I love you dearly but you are a_ fucking idiot_."

"No… Yes… I don't know. I don't know why I didn't tell you."

"You told Edward! I thought you didn't even like Edward, but you couldn't tell me?"

Bella shook her head. She could feel her body heating and tears welling in her eyes. She'd told Edward because she'd trusted him. Sure, he had found out most of it on his own… But she'd revealed all of that stuff to him because she'd thought he would keep her secrets.

How wrong she'd been.

"Edward found out on his own."

Rosalie sighed, resigned. A knock on the door sounded from Bella's bedroom door and the man of the hour poked his head in. Bella's spine stiffened as she saw him, she pointedly looked away.

Edward's brows furrowed slightly as his gaze shot straight to Bella who seemed keen on looking anywhere but back at him.

"Yes, Edward_?"_ Rosalie prompted. The two girls had immediately fallen silent when he'd stuck his head in the room, a stark contrast to the fierce tremble of voices he had first heard before he'd knocked. What had they been talking about?

"I'm sorry to disturb," he said finally. And though he spoke to Rosalie, it was Bella's face he sought. "But Emmett was thinking of taking off now if it's alright with you."

"Emmett's a free man," the blonde responded a little laconically as she rose to her feet, "He can do whatever he wants. He doesn't need my permission."

He tilted his head in surprise, his gaze shifting to Rosalie's for the first time. "I'm sure he knows that. He only brought up now because he was wanting to leave his car with you," Edward said mildly. "Even though I already insisted that you girls could just use mine. And that I would be more than happy to send and pick you up," he added, "If that's what you preferred."

"What?" Rosalie exclaimed. She started for the door and Edward obediently moved out of the way. His eyes softened as he turned back to Bella.

"Hey. I figured I would take off as well but–" he hesitated, "How are you feeling? Do you need anything?"

Bella was tucked in bed by the time Edward had entered the room which meant that there was really nowhere for Bella to go and once Rosalie had left, there was also no one there to act as a buffer for her. Bella was furious with Edward, unfortunately for him he had no idea that Bella knew that Edward had told everyone. But how much they knew was yet to be determined.

Rosalie had said that Edward had told them everything. But how did Rosalie know what _everything_ was? Surely Edward hadn't told her about her past as well… Rosalie might know about the dancing and she might now know it was because she was in debt but did she know _why?_ The real reasons?

Bella glanced back at Edward for a moment, her eyes flashed with anger as she took him in, standing there so calmly. Did he even plan on telling her that he'd spilled her darkest secrets to her friends?

"You told them." Bella's jaw clenched as she bit back the thousand names she wanted to fling at him. She wanted to leap out of the bed and slap him across the face. She'd never felt more betrayed in her life. Hot tears sprang to her eyes as she looked Edward in the eye.

"How could you?" Her voice broke.

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**I'm sure you would all of have done the same thing as Edward if put in a similar place, but it still hurts when someone breaks your trust, even if it is for their own good. **


	38. Chapter 38

**So half of you are happy to wait a week and then have regular updates. The other half would prefer to have an update every other day. So I guess that's forced me to make the decision... **

**I will post every other day from now. But when I say every other day, I probably will only skip one day in between. **

* * *

_Damn Rosalie._

Edward wasn't sure what was worse – having the full force of Bella's rage thrown at him or hearing the tremor of pain in her voice at the knowledge that he had given away one of her most well-kept secrets.

The springs of the bed creaked as Edward sank down on it. His face was grave as he met Bella's gaze fully. He could see her blinking back tears and it hurt his heart to see her do so. _But what he'd done had been for the best,_ he argued silently. He was only looking out for her. He had only ever looked out for Bella. Because he cared about her. Because he wanted to keep her safe. Couldn't she see that?

"How could I?" Edward repeated. "Bella, how could I _not_? They're your friends!" He shook his head. "You don't what it was like; you don't know how Rosalie and Alice were when Emmett called them this morning at 5 o'clock this morning, saying you had gotten into an accident and was at the hospital. They were worried sick, Bella. Worried sick for you."

Bella shook her head. "But you didn't have to tell them... I told you all of that in confidence, Edward. I trusted you! And you went behind my back and told my friends things that I didn't want them to know... Not yet..."

Edward had taken a seat on the bed next to Bella and even though she was angry with him – no furious would be a better word – she still felt a slight fluttering in her stomach at his nearness, which only seemed to serve her getting all the more angry and upset.

"I know you're upset with me," he said finally. "And you have every right to be. But… I only told them because they deserved to know. They were asking me questions, questions with answers that didn't make sense. What were you doing coming back at 4 am in the morning? Why were you in that part of town?"

He lifted his shoulders, spreading his hands out in beseeching gesture. "I told them only enough to answer their questions. I told them about who Riley was. I told them about your dancing. I told them about what he'd done to you. But that's it." His eyes softened with this promise. "I didn't tell them anything about what you told me that night when we were in bed together… about your past." He met her gaze. "Just enough so that they could help me keep you safe too."

"Thank you... For not telling them everything..." Bella mumbled. "I don't want them to know. That person is my past. It's not who I am anymore.

"You should know that I quit." Her eyes eventually flickered up to meet his but she looked away again, her eyes falling to the navy blue comforter that covered her.

"And they let you?" Edward asked an odd light in his eyes. "They let you go just like that? No questions?"

She spoke carefully. "Yeah, they let me go. They were really nice about it all." Bella fiddled with the corner of her bed comforter.

Edward noted that she was referring to them as 'they' when he now knew that it was in fact Riley. She'd slipped up at the hospital when she'd been affected by the morphine, but she'd obviously forgotten all about that.

"What did the police say? About the car?" Edward asked.

Bella looked up at him sharply and bit down on her lip. After a long pause, she said, "The brakes were cut."

"Do you think...?"

"I don't know, Edward. It could have been anyone really. Hell, it could have been another jealous girl angry at me for "stealing" one of her regulars."

Edward was quiet for a long time.

"I told them I was done..." she continued. "They said that if I got them half of what I owe by next week that I'd be done with it." Bella was still angry although her voice had quieted somewhat as she spoke. She sounded almost resigned. "I don't think I can go though... Not without the money I get from dancing."

He remembered what Emmett had said earlier that morning. Bella leaving would certainly be a motive for Riley to screw with her car… the question was, did he? Or had Bella really had just fallen asleep at the wheel? Edward had asked her to tell him what had happened that night, but she said that she couldn't remember. Perhaps she was still hazy with drugs. He wasn't sure. But it would do no harm if he asked her again when she was feeling better.

"How much are they asking for?"

Edward wanted to reach out to touch her; to hold her hand, stroke her hair – anything – but Bella still seemed too upset. And he was afraid that doing so would only have her growing angrier with him. So he refrained.

"Just over six grand," she admitted. The number made her head swim. There was no way she'd be able to get six grand together in a week. "I was thinking I could maybe go to the bank and ask them for another loan. But my credit history has been really bad lately what with all the outstanding credit card bills I have from trying to keep up with my life... Paying rent, bills..." she sighed again. "I don't even think that's going to be an option."

Something still didn't seem to sit well with him over this whole thing and he found himself questioning the man's sudden generosity. What was his move? Where was he taking this? Edward refused to believe that it all came from a sudden change of heart.

When it came to the money bit, he saw Bella's face fall. It was quite a sum of money he knew; not nearly as much as what she'd originally owed him. But money nonetheless, and money she certainly did not have to give.

But Edward did. The question was: would she take it?

He feared that if he brought up the subject again, Bella would shoot him down in the way that she had the last time. She was a stubborn little thing, to be true. But it was just six grand… Edward had six grand to spare. He had a lot in savings, along with the money he'd inherited and his relatively simple and low-key lifestyle meant that most of that money was sitting around in his account untouched.

"Rather than ask the bank for a loan, I could more easily give you the money." Edward suggested. Noticing the frown on Bella's face, he pointed out, "By the time the bank approves your loan – _if_ they approve your loan – it might be too late. If Riley's giving you a window out right now, I want you to take it. No matter what the cost."

He pinned her gaze with his. "Better owe me than Riley… wouldn't you agree?" his voice was quiet.

Bella opened her mouth to refuse Edward. She couldn't accept it… Could she? She closed it again as she reconsidered. It was only temporary. Bella could raise six grand in a couple of weeks and pay Edward back. She couldn't come up with six grand in one week though, no matter what she did. And it was just a loan. It wasn't like Edward was offering to pay the loan _for_ her.

"_Better owe me than Riley… wouldn't you agree?" _

Edward met her gaze with his own steady one. Bella didn't like having to rely on people to help her out. In fact, she despised it. Hadn't that been one of the reasons why she'd told no one about her struggles? That and the fact that letting them in on her problems would inevitably put them at danger too. A thought that had Bella uncomfortably twisting at the comforter in her hands.

"Let me try," Bella said at last. "If I can't do it… If I can't get the money by the end of the week… Then, I'll come to you." She sagged against the pillows.

Admitting that she needed Edward's help hurt her pride. She'd been so independent for so long. Ever since Riley had initially set her free, Bella had managed to live without having to depend on anyone. Accepting Edward's offer of help meant that she was no longer that independent woman. But in a different way, Bella felt relieved. As soon as she'd accepted his help, she'd felt a weight that had been crushing down on her chest, ease somewhat. Her situation no longer seemed so hopeless.

The corners of Edward's mouth turned down in a slight frown. He would rather have given her the money straight; he didn't trust Riley not to go back on his word. And with an opportunity like this…

But he also knew that it was a big step – and a good step – in the right direction if Bella was even willing to let him help her. And so he accepted this compromise (albeit a little reluctantly).

"By the end of the week." Edward agreed. His hand had reached out to touch her hair slightly as he spoke. But then as he gazed into her eyes, he was seized with the same urge to tug her towards him in a long, hot kiss as they had that Friday night and it took a huge amount of effort for him to pull his hand away and rise to his feet.

"Thank you," she murmured.

His smile was a little wistful as he looked down at Bella. "You look tired." He remarked quietly, "I should go."

After a moment's thought, Edward leant down to gently brush his lips across her forehead in tender kiss.

Bella's eyes flickered closed at the feeling of Edward's lips brushing her forehead. An action that she had once seen as being patronizing and condescending, she now saw as warm and caring.

"If you need anything… _ask_." The reminded offer hung in the air as he stepped away from the bed. With one last smile, Edward turned to leave the room.

Bella was still annoyed with him. He'd told her friends her secrets and hadn't given her the opportunity to tell them herself, but he was leaving her room in somewhat better graces than when he entered it and he was giving her an option to go to him if she needed to for the money which wasn't something she had before.

As Bella's eyes drifted close, she felt lighter. She knew her dreams would not be plagued with visions of her untimely death should she be unable to pay Riley back.

Instead, she dreamed of Edward.

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**There! I am capable of giving you non-cliffhangery updates!**


	39. Chapter 39

**So I wasn't going to post today, but I couldn't stay away.**

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Things had picked up at the magazine considerably and Bella had had a hectic week. Her boss was on her for a bunch of articles she was supposed to have finished last week, the deadline for such things was approaching and there was a whole process to submitting an article after initially writing it.

The lights in the magazine were all off except for a lamp on Bella's desk and the glare of her computer screen as she furiously worked at putting the final touches on her last article. She breathed a sigh of relief as she hit the send button on her email. Don would be happy that she'd finally given it over, although she didn't doubt he'd have something more to add to the half an hour lecture she'd received for poor performance. She knew better than to hand in articles to the editor late.

She glanced at the clock, it was a little after eight o'clock, she tossed the Chinese takeaway she'd ordered to the office and packed up leaving the work she would need to complete for the next day on her desk in a neat pile.

Her feet were killing her but it was only a short walk back to the apartment. The streets were busy, as usual, filled with pedestrians visiting the various restaurants and bars and Bella had to dodge through the crowds to get home. She sighed with relief when she arrived in front of her own apartment. All she needed was to kick her heels off, grab a rather large bottle of wine and hope that her hangover wasn't too bad the next morning.

She was digging in her handbag for her keys when she heard the handle of Edward's apartment door jiggle indicating he was about to come out… Bella hastened, it wasn't that she was avoiding Edward… Okay, she might have been avoiding Edward.

Ever since the weekend she had been doing her best to stay out of his way. She'd been frantically researching ways to earn some extra cash (specifically six thousand dollars) that didn't require taking her clothes off or performing indecent behavior. And that also didn't require borrowing money from the hot guy next door.

Unfortunately, Bella wasn't quick enough. She dropped her keys in her haste and when she glanced up from her crouching position, Edward was standing directly above her.

Edward paused outside his door as he saw a familiar dark haired figure fumbling with her keys and swearing indistinctly as they tumbled from her fingers in her haste. He hid a smile, choosing instead to admire the way her black skirt rode up her long tanned legs, his eyes darkening with a touch of want as he spotted the stretch of warm, smooth skin of her inner thigh revealed by the black thigh highs she'd donned.

_This woman would be the death of him._

He had debated whether to let Bella escape into her house undisturbed but such a stirring sight had left him no choice but to confront her for obvious attempts to avoid him over the past week. And so Edward carefully made his way over to her, stopping a little bit ways as Bella grabbed for her keys.

"Hello." He greeted as she rose to her feet. "Haven't seen you in a while, Bella. I would ask you how's the head but…" he paused, his eyes flicking over to where a small, healing scar remained near her temple mostly covered by her mass of dark hair. "It seems to be doing well."

"Of course, I wouldn't need to ask that if I had seen you more recently than Saturday." The corner of Edward's mouth twitched up in a faint smile, more sardonic than anything else even as his tone was light and pleasant.

His eyebrows rose up. "Avoiding me much?"

"Avoiding you?" Bella bit at her lip nervously. So he'd noticed, she frowned. She hadn't meant to make it look so obvious. "I'm not avoiding you..."

She tucked a loose bit of hair that had sprung from her untidy bun as she straightened up to meet Edward's eye.

Edward's eyebrows rose even higher at her protest. He debated whether to point out the instances before where upon his approach, she had either hastily disappeared into the house or scurried away before deciding not to. He was sure his skepticism was plain enough that he needn't comment on it.

"Why, have you been missing me?" She asked, her lips quirking up in a small, somewhat flirtatious smile.

"Maybe. It does seem that way." Edward agreed as easy as if discussing the weather. But his steady gaze on Bella belied the ease at which these remarks were said as he searched her face for her reaction. "Though I have a feeling that my sentiments aren't exactly shared." He said lightly.

Bella's gaze flickered downward at Edward's assumption that she hadn't missed him. She didn't correct him though, only because she couldn't even seem to admit to herself how much she'd missed Edward's company. When she'd worked at the club, he'd been the only thing she ever looked forward to of a night and now that she no longer had to work there... She found herself wishing that she could still keep that part of her night. The feeling of Edward's eyes on her body, the heated looks he gave her, the way his green eyes turned black and that he visibly had to control himself not to touch her body, and when he did...

But it was more than the physical contact with him that she craved.

She wanted more.

She wanted to feel held, cared for and reassured. Edward seemed to be the only one who could provide that. No, Edward was the only one she wanted to provide that to her.

Her stomach fluttered, being so close to Edward in proximity was making her even more nervous than normal. She looked up at him beneath her eyelashes. "How have you been?"

His green eyes returned to her face, taking in the playful curve of her lips – still red despite the late hour – and the light, golden flecks in her brown eyes. Bella's moods came and went like the wind. But he preferred this return to a coquettish phase than her earlier churlish one and he hoped that it meant that she had somewhat forgiven him for spilling her secrets to their friends.

He rested his back against the wall and nodded to Bella. "I've been well." Edward's eyes softened slightly as he glanced over her body. "And you? Apart from the head, how are your other injuries? Is your wrist still sore?"

"I'm a quick healer." She smiled.

He gestured to her right hand that still clutched at the keys. "May I?"

Edward waited, his breath held as Bella paused to consider his offer. He tried to keep his face blank as her eyes flicked up to his before she slowly placed her palm in his outstretched one. He hid a pleased smile as he ducked his head, raising the hand closer to his eyes for inspection.

Her hand was soft and warm and Edward found himself relishing the feel of it in his own palm as he carefully examined the sprain. "The swelling's gone down. That's good." He murmured as the rough pad of his thumb caressed the back of her hand.

Bella's breath caught as Edward wrapped a gentle hand around hers and held it carefully in his own as he inspected it for bruising and swelling, which there was none. It only felt a bit tight, the muscles had not been used very much over the course of the past week. Even the cut on her forehead was healing quickly; she'd managed to hide the couple of butterfly stitches by fixing her hair so that it covered it.

But while her heart rate quickened and the butterflies in her stomach went wild, she did her best to hide her nerves. She bit her lip; the only tell Edward might spot of what Edward was doing to her with his proximity.

"You really are a quick healer." Edward commented with a slow, amused smile. "Have you any other secret talents?"

She smiled coyly as he looked her over. "I've got many talents." Bella raised an eyebrow. "But I do believe you've seen most of my most secret ones, Edward…" She looked up at him through her eyelashes, Edward's thumb continued to graze over the back of her hand.

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**Any ideas on where this might be heading...?**


	40. Chapter 40

**Alright, my weekend is chocker block, there's no way I'll have any time to post this weekend, so I'm giving you a chapter now to make up for it. Enjoy!**

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In the dimness of the hallway, Edward could just make out the way Bella's eyes danced as she glanced sideways up at him through her dark lashes in the way that girls were incredible at doing and unconsciously drawing him closer to her.

"That may be so. But I seem to have forgotten some of the rest…" He murmured. His touch on her hand had stilled. "Perhaps you'll need to help remind me."

He was teasing her now; teasing her in the same way her coy remarks had led to provoke him.

But Edward could barely focus on his words when all he could think about was how good Bella smelt. The soft citrus scent clung to her warm skin and he was so very tempted to lean in and skim his nose along the tender skin of her neck, if only to breathe it in more deeply.

Bella found it incredibly hard to keep her breathing normal with Edward standing so close to her. Her heart was thudding so loudly in her chest she knew that Edward must be able to hear it. Her lips parted, her mouth was dry, and she nervously used her tongue to wet her lips, the action driving Edward's eyes to flicker down to her mouth. His eyes were dark, hungry almost. God, she wanted him. She wanted him more than anyone else. How had she gone this long without him until now?

"I don't know Edward... I don't think you'd be able to handle it." She teased back.

Edward's eyes darkened as he watched the tip of her tongue brush across her lips. What he would give to have it be his tongue caressing her mouth like that…

He shifted, his fingers on Bella's hand slipping down to snake around her wrist. And in one swift moment, Edward tugged her towards him. He heard her small gasp as she stumbled forward slightly, her chest brushing against his as he steadied her steps.

"Is that a challenge, Bella?" His voice was low and husky as he drank in the sight of Bella's flushed cheeks and bright eyes. Wisps of golden hair curled prettily around her face from where they had escaped from the knot at the bottom of her neck but in his opinion, they only added to the pleasurable appearance.

His other hand slid down the curve of her waist, relishing the feel of her in his arms as he raised his brow at her, waiting for an answer.

Bella's lips pulled up in a happy smile as Edward brought her close to him, the sudden movement causing her to gasp but her nipples tightened considerably and smooth warmth began to heat her body, her skin. She peered up at him, attempting to make her eyes wide and innocent, although she doubted Edward would miss the mischievous look in her eyes.

"It might be..." she whispered. Her skin tingled from where he touched her; she was so caught up in him that she barely noticed the clicking of heels that indicated someone was coming.

Edward was so close… if he had leant in just a little bit further, he would have been able to capture those pretty red lips between his own… to press her against the wall and feel the curves of her body under his palms…

It wasn't until they turned the corner that Bella glanced up to see Rosalie, eyebrows raised and a small smirk playing on her lips. Bella and Edward quickly stepped apart; Bella straightened her back, pursed her lips and tried her best not to blush.

"Rosalie! I didn't know you were going to be back tonight..."

_"Clearly..."_ The blonde remarked sardonically. She continued forward, fishing out her keys from her handbag and unlocked the door while Bella and Edward did their best not to look at each other. _"You coming inside, or are you..."_ She glanced between Edward and Bella. _"Busy?"_

"No, no... I'm coming inside." She frowned. She didn't want to go inside, but she also didn't really want to give her friend the satisfaction of knowing all Bella wanted to do was grind her body all over Edward. She cleared her throat and shot Edward a rueful smile. "See you later, Edward..." And shut the door behind him.

"Bye." Edward managed as the door swung shut in front of him. There was silence. With a frustrated sigh, he turned around to return his own home and tried to put thoughts of Bella out of his mind.

It didn't work. Edward had tried to keep himself busy and distracted with his book, but when the clock in the living room chimed twelve, he realized that it was futile. He was better off going to bed. He tossed his chocolate wrapper in the bin and rose to his feet stretching. He had just switched off the main lights in the room when there came the distinct knock at the door.

He paused. Who would be calling on him so late at night?

Striding over to the door, he undid the deadbolt and tugged the knob open to reveal no one other than… "Bella?" Edward asked surprised.

Bella had regretted closing the door on Edward ever since Rosalie had returned home. Who cared what Rosalie thought! Not that her friend bothered to hide said thoughts as soon as said door was closed.

"You don't see me pestering you with questions about your supposed friends-with-benefits-only relationship you have going on with Emmett." Bella had retorted back in an attempt to dissuade Rosalie from further questioning.

It seemed to have done the trick as Rosalie had promptly shut her mouth, turned her back and had busied herself with pouring them both a glass of wine.

A few hours later and Rosalie had retired to her own bedroom and Bella was a couple of drinks tipsier. Perhaps it was the alcohol that had all of a sudden made her more courageous (or perhaps stupider) than usual. But in less than ten minutes Bella found herself rapping her knuckles against the wooden front door opposite her own.

She faltered seconds after making the decision to knock. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea… It wasn't too late to dart back across the hallway and admit this was a dumb idea, was it?

The front door opened.

Too late.

Edward was standing in front of her, his eyes taking her in.

"Hi… I thought I'd return the shirt you leant me…"

There was nothing sexier than the sight of Bella clad in his football jersey. Edward's grey eyes moved from the top of her dark head, down the small curves of her body hidden by the shirt and to her long tanned bare legs.

And from the looks of it… _just_ his football jersey.

He'd answered the door many a time, but this was probably the most pleasurable sight to greet him.

"You didn't need to do that," he said after a pause. His head was tilted slightly as he observed her. "I think it looks rather nicer on you, actually."

His lips lifted in an amused smile. "After all, how exactly were you planning on returning it to me anyway? You're wearing the shirt. I can hardly let you go running around naked."

"Well, they're asleep. So they wouldn't even know." Bella stepped into Edward's apartment as he stood aside to allow her entry. "As for how I expected I'd give it back to you..." She walked further into the room as Edward shut the door behind them.

The lights in the apartment were off save for a single lamp on a corner table nearer to where the bedrooms were. She turned back around to face Edward who was looking her over with an appreciative glance.

Bella knew he wanted her, she could see it in his eyes, and he wasn't bothering to hide his emotions from her. Not this time. So she felt no apprehension when she slid her fingers under the hem of the jersey and lifted it up over her body revealing the fact that she was wearing absolutely nothing underneath it.

She crossed the room again and handed the jersey to Edward. "Thanks for the loan."

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**So, I'll see you in a couple of days! ;)**


	41. Chapter 41

**A lot of you hate me for where I left the last chapter. All I can do is give you a lemony chapter and ask for your forgiveness.**

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"Bella." He growled. Edward's eyes darkened with unmistakable lust as one arm immediately shot out to snake around Bella's bare waist, pulling her close to him. He chucked the jersey aside and used his free hand to cup her cheek, forcing her face up to meet his. He burned with the want and the desire to taste Bella on his lips in every way possible. It had been stirring inside of him ever since earlier that night outside their apartments.

And if this wasn't a sure fire indicator of what Bella wanted, Edward didn't know what was.

But it was need for reassurance that held him back. "Tell me you want this. Tell me you want me." Edward demanded. "Because if you don't… you can still walk away now. I'll let you walk away. But if you say yes…"

His grip on her waist tightened infinitesimally as his eyes smoldered down at her. "I'm not letting you go."

Unthinkingly, her own tongue flicked out to wet her lips, anticipating what it'd be like to kiss Edward again. To have him possess her mouth. She bit her lip and looked up to meet his eyes again.

"I want you." Her words were a whisper but they were the truth. She hadn't wanted anyone more than she wanted Edward. Bella had always craved sex in her life. She'd had a few sexual partners, a couple of boyfriends here and there (ones that didn't usually last longer than three months) but none came close to the longing and desire she felt right now.

"I'm not exactly walking away right now, Edward. I want you. I want you now. Hard. Fast..." Her eyes drifted to his mouth again. "Please?"

Please really must have been the magic word because in an instant, Edward's lips were molding to hers, his hands were trailing quickly down the sides of her body to cup her naked ass and pressing her against his body, all while his tongue invaded her mouth.

Then he was lifting her. Bella's arms went around his neck which allowed Edward to pull her up into his arms, her legs going around his waist, his hands supporting her back and he began to walk. He never stopped kissing her, not when they accidentally bumped into the sofa or the lamp. At one point he pressed her against the wall all so he could ravage her neck with hot kisses that made her moan and plead him.

And then they were sprawled out on the bed, Bella naked and laid out before him while he stood over her, both panting and staring at each other, both trying to get their breaths back.

Edward wasted no time tugging his shirt up and over his head. He joined Bella on the bed now where her hands slipped around his body, feeling the muscles of his arms as they flexed in his attempt to hold himself off from crushing her.

"Let me look at you." The hoarseness of his voice seemed to send a shiver through her and he gave a low chuckle.

"I want to memorize this body." His hands stroked her spine and his mouth lowered to press into the smooth nape of her neck. "You're beautiful, Bella." He kissed her shoulder in a surprisingly tender gesture.

Edward's hands moved down to cup her small pert breasts, rubbing her tight nipples between the rough pads of his fingers. He hid a smile at her soft whimpers. "Do you like that?" He asked, nuzzling her neck. He laughed at her enthusiastic response and silenced her with a firm kiss, "Well then, don't worry, sweetheart. I'm just getting started."

His lips began to move again, kissing a path down her neck to her breasts that he'd been playing with only a few moments ago. As he flicked his tongue lazily over the hardened points, his hand reached down to stroke her hip, moving lower… lower… and lower until his fingertips brushed against the slickness between her thighs. Edward stifled a groan, his eyes darkening as he realized just how wet Bella was. How much she wanted _him_.

"Do you feel that?" he asked her, his voice low. He pressed himself against her so that she could feel the heat of his burgeoning erection straining against his pants. "Do you know how crazy you drive me? How much I want you?"

Edward's fingers slipped down to brush against her sensitive bud. "And then to show up on my doorstep, dressed in my shirt like that…" he growled. "Teasing me like that…" His fingers teased her as if to make a point. They circled around her clit then back down through the folds, spreading her wetness around.

Her body arched beneath him, trying to nudge his touch back up to her clit for some more of that delicious pleasure. He pressed heated kisses on her neck as he resolutely avoided touching her where she most wanted him to. "Don't you remember what I told you last time? About what happens to girls like you who try to tease me?" he growled.

The tip of his finger grazed her clit, inciting a loud whimper from Bella. He drew his hand back, allowing his fingers to trace her glistening, swollen inner lips.

Her body was so sensitive. Every touch that lingered on her skin was driving her completely mad. Edward was like a puppet master, controlling her body with invisible strings as he manipulated her. Her body arched into his, begging him for more contact, she was unable to stop herself from moaning and whimpering and pleading him for more.

When Bella had been a stripper she'd known exactly how to tease and incite responses from the men she danced for. She knew the ones who would tip her well if she drew things out for as long as possible. While there were some who just wanted a quick release, she could drive them to the brink in less than ten minutes... For others, she could drive them crazy for hours, and they loved it.

Edward was taking her pleasure to a whole new level. And she loved it. No matter how much she pleaded him, whether with words, begging him to give it to her, or with her body, he knew how to drive her absolutely crazy, bringing her to the edge but never over it. Tears of pure bliss sprung up in the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill.

Edward drew his hand away and Bella nearly sobbed at the loss.

But this teasing, this almost agonizing give and take of pleasure, was turning her on more than anything ever had before. "Edward," she breathed, or moaned, Bella couldn't tell. Excitement sparkled in her eyes.

Edward savored the erotic sight of her sprawled body, flushed pink against the rumpled white of his sheets and her full, pouting lips parted in soft moans as he stroked her wet slit.

Did she realize how damned desirable she was? How hard she made him?

The knowledge that she would be his tonight, completely his, made his eyes darken with pleasure. But Edward kept his fingers on her clit, tracing the edges of her wet lips while resisting the rising urge to slip inside her and fuck her hard; instead he fucked her with his fingers. Bella's hips moved against his hand as her whimpers grew louder, practically begging him now and earning a wicked smile from Edward.

She was wound up tighter than a clock. He could see the strain on Bella's face, see the tears that peeked from the corners of her eyes as she desperately tried to get Edward to let her have her pleasure. And then finally, he relented.

As he slid his finger inside of her, his eyes remained on hers as he slowly moved it in and out. He cupped her hot mound, pressing down on her clit as his finger steadily stroked, the speed gradually increasing with each loud enthusiastic moan that fell from Bella's lips until he was furiously pumping in and out of her. He had added two fingers now and was forced to stifle his own groan as he realized that she was a lot tighter than he had thought.

"God, I want you. You bad girl." Edward growled. The rough pad of his thumb rubbed wildly at her clit as he plunged two fingers inside her again, claiming her for his until her back suddenly arched forward without warning and her head fell back in a scream of pure ecstasy. He could feel her clenching hard around his fingers as the waves of pleasure crashed over her again and again and again until she fell back against his pillows, the bright flush high on her cheeks and her eyes squeezed shut.

Edward chuckled, his hands running up her legs and across her bare stomach, watching as Bella struggled to catch her breath from the sheer intensity of the climax he'd just given her. When her eyes finally opened and focused on his face, he smiled and asked her rather innocently, "Good?"

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**Am I forgiven?**


	42. Chapter 42

**Coming up for air...**

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The slow windup of torturous pleasure that Edward had given her had sent her spiraling out of control, she was drunk on sex, and her mind was blissfully blank of everything and anything.

She'd never felt this way before, not even her own fingers had brought her to such heights. She'd always been so intent on the destination when she'd been with other people, intent on reaching her orgasm that no one had ever teased it out of her, had gone so slow that she was forced to revel in the journey, and she almost felt disappointed that she'd reached that destination.

Almost. It wasn't quite over yet.

Bella mumbled a slurred response and Edward chuckled as he settled himself next to her, his fingers stroking over her skin causing goose bumps to pleasurably rise on her flesh, making her shiver. She turned her body to press her face into his chest... He smelled so good.

It took her a good few minutes to regain herself but Edward allowed her the time to recover and eventually she became aware once again. Edward's warm skin, his hard muscles under her exploring hands, his smell... She wondered what he'd taste like.

Cautiously, Bella's hands wandered downward. Would he let her...?

"I want to see you..." she murmured, her eyes flickered up to his. Edward didn't even hesitate, his hands moved to his belt and he unbuckled it but Bella's hands pushed his away, she wanted to uncover him. She hastily pulled at the button and zipper of his jeans, pushed them down over his hips, did the same with his black boxers and gasped.

"I don't think it's fair that you've seen me naked so many times... And you've been keeping this from me." Her eyes darted to his, an admonishing frown playing on her lips. He was hard, long and thick.

Perfect.

Bella knew she was good at giving head, but she doubted she would be able to take him all in. She licked her lips and shifted on the bed until Edward was lying back and Bella could straddle him. Her wetness coating him as she slid her sex over his maleness. She was teasing him now. She knew he wanted to be inside of her, she could hear it in the groans he made and the way his eyes looked over her with hunger.

Bella's legs were spread wide as she straddled his hips and he caught the faint scent of her arousal that only served to tighten his groin more. When she lowered her head to take him in her mouth, Edward knew he was done for.

She kissed him, fully on the mouth, her tongue darting out to flicker over his lips. And then she was placing those same wet, hot kisses down his body, over the stubble of his jaw, down his throat... His chest... His stomach... She felt his hips buck subconsciously; she struggled to hide her smirk.

"I want you to fuck me, Edward. Hard... Fast... But first... I want to taste you." Her lips slid over the head of his cock, her tongue sliding down the shaft and then back up again. She kept his eyes on his, holding eye contact for a moment before they drifted close as she took him in again. He was big. Bigger than any guy she'd ever been with, which was definitely saying something.

He wouldn't be able to stay away from Bella for the rest of his life. He had to have her. _Tonight_.

She began to bob her head up and down, her tongue pressed flat against the shaft while using her hand to stroke the parts of him she couldn't fit into her mouth. Still, it was amazing to see her try.

Edward moved to close the strong, heavy palm of his hand over hers which gripped his hip for support while the other came around to thread his fingers through her loose brown hair. His eyes were shut and his jaw tightly clenched as she swirled her tongue around his swollen head, teasing his slit with the tip and lapping up the drops of pre-cum that lingered there. "Bella." He groaned, the name both a benediction and a curse.

What a woman. What a mouth.

His cock swelling eagerly, his balls tightening in lust as her movements grew quicker. Edward fought back the urge to grab her and thrust forcefully in her mouth, it was almost painful and his hips trembled with the need. She made a noise in her throat; a stifled moan perhaps, he wasn't quite sure. Her mouth was too full with him to tell. But the vibrations that came from it alone were enough to make his hips arch instinctively, silently begging her for relief from the teasing. Bella's touches intensified and he saw the hunger in her eyes as she tried to spur her movements on, wanting to push him over the edge in the same way he had done to her, wanting him to explode…

"Bella, stop." He groaned hoarsely. "Stop, Bella. Bella!" His grip on her hair tightened as he pulled himself away from her. Edward's cock throbbed from the loss of sensation but he ignored it. Instead, he grabbed her by the shoulders and flipped her easily so that she was pinned beneath him to the bed but bore none of his heavy weight.

His erection pressed hot and heavy against her smooth thigh as he clenched and unclenched his jaw above her in an attempt to regain some semblance of control. "Bella." Edward's voice was low as he reached out to touch her face with his fingers. His grey eyes were hooded and smoldered with unmistaken desire yet still he held back. He wanted to be sure. He always wanted to be sure. He was a careful man, a cautious man, especially when it came to these things.

"If we do this, there's no going back." Edward warned her. "When I said I wanted you, I meant it. I want you more than just for tonight… more than for just this. If that isn't what you want, say it now."

His eyes darkened with want as his voice grew huskier. "Because I don't think I can let you go after this."

She lay under him now, her eyes meeting his almost hesitantly. Could she give him what he wanted? She wanted to say yes. There was something pulling her toward him, some invisible line that had always been there, but she had never been able to identify before. She wanted him, that much she knew for sure.

Edward was staring at her intently, waiting patiently for her answer. Insecurity flickered inside of her. Even if Bella said yes, she knew it would only be a matter of time before Edward got sick of her anyway. Wasn't that the way it always went? Bella usually made a habit of cutting things off before it got to that point but the thought of Edward getting sick of her made her chest ache.

Bella reflected on their past. The way things had been for them up until this point. She cracked a small smile as she realized that a month ago; the pair of them had been bickering, arguing over anything. Both of them were stubborn, maybe Bella more so than Edward, she never would have thought that she _would_ be lying underneath Edward, completely naked having just experienced the most amazing orgasm anyone had ever given to her before... Not that she _hadn't_ fantasized about it.

"I want you, Edward. I want you desperately... I want to be with you... But you should know, I'm fucked up. There's something wrong with me. I haven't ever been in a relationship before. I don't even think I know how to be in one." Her eyes flickered downcast; focusing on a small freckle on Edward's left shoulder. She couldn't meet his gaze.

Edward could see the curve of Bella's cheek outlined by the faint moonlight as he listened to her speak. He was patient with her, his eyes serious as she explained her screwed up nature and inexperience with relationships.

When she had trailed off and he was certain that she had finished talking, Edward's hand rose to brush the hair off her forehead. "I don't want to push you." He said finally.

"But if you want to be with me, that's reason enough I think. Because God knows how much I want to be with you. The other things don't matter, Bella. Well," he amended, "They do. But we'll work through them, you know? We'll work it out together."

The corner of his mouth lifted up in a small smile as he leaned down to brush his lips against her neck, her jaw, her cheek… before hovering above her lips. "Trust me, Bella." Edward murmured.

She tried to feel reassured by his words. To trust him, as he'd told her to. She still felt nervous, but at the same time she felt safe with him. Certainly safer than she had been with any man before her. And she wanted to trust him. Could she? Could she learn?

"I used to think you hated me..." Bella murmured as Edward's lips brushed over hers. She kissed him back, her hands travelling up his arms to feel the hard muscles of his biceps and shoulders. What part of him wasn't big? Bella wondered.

"Hate you?" He repeated incredulously, pulling away from her lips with his brow furrowed. "Why on earth would you think that?"

Edward didn't hate Bella. He had never hated Bella.

They had shared an antagonistic relationship in the past, but that had really seemed to be more on her part more so than his. He had tried to be civil, but with this fiery, infuriating brown eyed girl, all his attempts to be friendly seemed to be futile. It was true, there were times Edward had jabbed at her once or twice for the pure smug pleasure of it, and she was hot as hell when she got all worked up, but she seemed to take everything he posed to her as a challenge. Which wasn't always the case.

His fingers brushed over the hard, aching nipples of her breasts and he scowled a little. "If there's anything I hate about you, Bella, it's your ability to constantly drive me absolutely crazy." But as annoyed as he sounded, he admitted, "But even that I don't quite hate. More like an _exasperating_ quality that I'm fond of."

Bella's heart sped up at his words. Did she really drive him crazy? She peered up into his wide, earnest eyes and could see that he was speaking the truth. This man took her breath away. He made he feel a tumult of varying emotions which made it extremely hard for her to ever figure out what exactly she was feeling when she was around him. And it wasn't just recently that this had happened. Perhaps this was why Bella had always antagonized him in the past. Because she never knew quite what to think around him let alone _feel._

Her fingers trailed up and down his arms. "What else are you fond of?" Bella murmured. She wasn't really fishing for compliments, she genuinely wanted to know what Edward saw in her because she couldn't for the life of her, figure it out for herself.

"Hmmm…" his lips trailed down the smooth column of Bella's neck, nipping at the tender skin at the hollow of her throat and inciting a gasp from her. Edward could smell the scent of her perfume; delicious and so uniquely Bella's that he was certain that he could pick her out from a crowd of people even while blindfolded.

"This." He murmured as he nuzzled her neck before moving down to take one taut nipple between his lips. He ran his tongue over it, teasing them gently before suddenly lowering his mouth to suck hard, his teeth grazing them in a way that made Bella cry out in surprise from the sudden sensation.

"I like your smell." Edward breathed as he moved to give the same attention to her right breast. As he sucked, his other hand reached to trace circles on her bare upper thigh, reaching out to stroke the wet lips of her heat every now and then as he did so. "I like how it clings to you, your body… and your hair. I like how I can taste it on you even like this. Sweet…" his voice grew husky as he continued to trail kisses down the flat plane of her tummy, "Like honey. And it makes me wonder if the rest of you taste just as good."

His eyes met hers as he smiled slowly and wickedly. "I'm rather tempted to find out."

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**A short break before the sexing continues. ;)**


	43. Chapter 43

**And now what we've all been waiting for...**

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In one quick movement, Edward shifted himself so that he was kneeling between Bella's legs. His hands grasped her hips and slipped under to cup her round ass, bringing her closer to him. He kissed her damp thighs, still damp from her previous orgasm, kissing all the way up until his mouth reached her heat. With a final glance up at Bella to see if this was okay with her, he lowered his head to brush his tongue along her wet slit.

"Yeah. You do taste as good as you smell." He murmured against the lips of her pussy.

"Oh!" Bella's hips arched as Edward's tongue traced down her sex, her eyes rolling back into her head as he flickered over her already so sensitive clit. She wasn't far from a second orgasm; it really took no time at all for Edward to bring her to the brink again and then send her crashing over it. The suddenness of it all had her breathing hard; she'd lost all sense of anything.

"Please, Edward... I want you." She tugged on his arms, urging him up her body once again where she kissed him, she could taste her own muskiness on his lips. She moaned. "I want you inside of me." Her hands trailed down to the thickness of his cock where she wrapped her hand around it, feeling his girth. He was so thick... So long... She wanted to feel him inside of her.

He began to lift himself up to grab a condom in his drawer but she stopped him. Her hands trailed down the hard panes of his chest, reaching down to curl around his hard length as she assured him that she was safe. They didn't need a condom.

"I'm on the pill... And I... I'm safe." She'd only recently had a checkup at the doctor's. She explained, thanks to her being a stripper she'd had to have a checkup before she could work at Indulgences. And then every month after that.

Edward hesitated. "I'm safe too." He was careful after all, and it was this cautious nature of his that made him ask her again gently if she was sure. Bella nodded and he leaned down to kiss her again. "Okay."

He knelt between her legs and slid his length along her wetness before grasping her hips and thrusting inside in one long smooth stroke. He groaned as he felt her clench around him. God, she was tight. A lot tighter than he had expected her to be. "Jesus, Bella. You feel so good, sweetheart." He groaned as he continued to push, burying himself to the hilt before pausing to relish the amazing feel of her clamped around him.

And then Edward began to move. Bella's moans filled the room as he thrust into her, getting a steady rhythm going on as he picked up speed. "Do you like that, Bella?" he breathed as her head fell back against the pillow, her long hair spilling around her shoulders as she cried out with every stroke. "Do you like it when I do this to you?"

He leant forward to wrap his arm around her waist, drawing her closer to him as he continued to thrust harder and harder into her. "You have no idea how long I've wanted this. How long I've wanted you." Edward growled, as his lips brushed against her ear. "All those times I saw you on stage… and when you danced for me in that little room… watching you play with yourself, touching yourself… and then to see you changed again in the daytime, all innocent…

"It was so hard to keep my hands to myself when all I wanted to do was push you up against the wall and take you like this. _Hard_." Edward bit down on the soft skin of her earlobe. "To make you scream my name like you did when I first touched you… do you remember?"

Edward's hot whispered words made her tremble almost as much as the pure pleasure she felt from having Edward inside of her, pushing in and out, she continued to cry out on every thrust. "Oh!" The tip of his head massaged against her g-spot.

"Y-yes… I remember." Bella responded to his question. She remembered quite well, in fact said memory had been all she'd been able to think about whenever she'd been alone in her bed, late at night…

"Do it, Edward… Make me scream." Her eyes met his; both were heated with unmistakable lust. It was a look Bella recognized but she'd never seen the care behind those eyes, not like how Edward was looking at her now.

Edward's hands brought her legs so that her calves were against his shoulders, her eyes widened as he thrust hard inside of her before throwing her head back to moan, he thrust harder until she _was_ screaming. "Oh, God! Edward! Yes!" She was so close, she could feel the warming sensations creeping so quickly over her body, a few more thrusts and Bella was crashing. The muscles of her sex clenched as her orgasm hit her, but Edward wasn't done. He continued to fuck her, harder, faster and then another orgasm hit her, so quickly after the last one.

He pulled out, quickly turned her body so that she was now lying face down on the bed spread, she barely needed to do anything, Edward manipulated her almost limp body until she was kneeling. Edward slid into her again, his hands on her hips using her body to fuck his cock. Bella felt helpless to him, her body was limp from the two orgasms she'd already received before he'd entered her, and the next two that had come so suddenly and had almost blocked out all of her senses. Almost.

Edward's hands came around her body between her thighs to find that magical button that would send her crashing once more. "Edward… I can't… I can't come again…" But he paid her no heed, even when her thighs clenched together, trying to push his hand away, he still managed to find her, his fingers stroked tenderly over her swollen, wet flesh as he continued to drive hard and fast into her.

"Yes, you can. And you will." Edward promised as he pressed a searing kiss into the middle of her bare back. His hands trailed over her body, stroking her hips, the soft skin of her tummy before slipping down to touch her more intimately between her legs despite Bella's resistance. "Shhh… I just want to make you feel good, sweetheart. One more time."

He wanted nothing more than to coax one final climax from her before the night was over. And he knew that Bella was close. He could feel her inner muscles clenching around him as she panted, her breasts swaying with each hard thrust of his hips.

God, she was so hot.

"Come on, Bella." Edward breathed as he rubbed the rough pad of his finger against her sensitive nub in time to his strokes. "Come for me." And then Bella screamed. She bucked wildly against him, her legs trembling from the strain as the pleasure rocked her body. He didn't think he'd ever get tired of hearing her moan his name out like that.

He growled, his breaths growing ragged as he drove harder and harder into her. By now, Bella had sagged forward and he wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her up. She was quivering around him as he continued to thrust upwards in short, sporadic movements until he gave a loud groan and with one final thrust, came. Edward's arm tightened around Bella as he shuddered, spilling his seed into her. He gasped her name, and twisted her to him so that they both fell back against the pillows and tangled sheets, panting.

Slowly, he pulled out from her. Edward's arms wrapped around her waist as he nuzzled her warm neck, inhaling the glorious scent of her now mingled with his own.

Bella's body trembled. Her breaths came in heavy pants as she tried to get her breath back. Tremors shook her body while Edward's hands ran down her heated skin, soothing her. Her eyes were closed, her whole body felt heavy, but she felt so good. Never had she come as hard as she had just now. She'd never even thought it was possible to feel so much pleasure.

How many times had Edward made her orgasm? Four? Five times? She couldn't be sure. But each climax had hit her hard, had caused her to see stars and had forced her to scream out with pleasure. She'd had no control. And her last climax, perhaps the most powerful of them all! She was certain she must have blacked out, although surely that wasn't possible.

"Edward?" she mumbled, her eyes were still heavy but she could feel him next to her. She forced her eyes to open and blinked. She rolled over so that she was facing him, her body still trembled and Edward took her into his arms, holding her close to his body.

"That was amazing…" she murmured.

Edward chuckled, a low sound in the darkness as he wound his arm around her to pull her in closer.

"_You're_ pretty amazing." He corrected as he nuzzled into her neck, pressing soft kisses over her dewy skin. Like this, he could feel her heartbeat steadying with each rise and fall of her chest as they fought to catch their breaths back. Edward smirked into her neck. Nothing brought him more pleasure than to know the true extent of Bella's pleasure that had come about because of him.

"Who knew you were just so… sensitive?" he paused, his hands trailing almost possessively over her breasts and the soft curve of her hips. His eyes darkened at the memory of her back arching as his name fell from her lips with each pant. "You'll honestly be the death of me, Bella."

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**Phew! So what'd you think? Well worth the wait?**


	44. Chapter 44

**So, this is an extra long post for two reasons... I couldn't find an appropriate place to stop in this chapter and, I thought you would hate me less for giving you a longer post because I am going to be taking a break. To be perfectly honest with you, I had a bit of a nervous break down the other day. The stresses of the wedding planning are starting to really get to be, it's more of a financial hardship as I'm sure many of you have experienced, I got pulled over by the police for failing to give way... to the police man. Fortunately, he was very kind and let me off on a warning but not before telling me how much the cost of the fine would have been. Anyway, I need to take some time for myself and focus more on life and whatnot. In saying all of that, I am not giving up on this story, not at all! You have all been wonderful in encouraging me to write and give helpful advice about things that could improve the story, for which I am very grateful. So I am writing more, I just won't be updating every day. Possibly maybe, once a week. I am also in the process of having the story edited with Project Team Beta and am updating the beginning chapters as I go. **

**I'm not giving up on this story, so please don't give up on me. :)**

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"I don't know if it's about me being sensitive or you just being so…" Bella couldn't quite think of the word to describe Edward. Talented? It didn't seem to do him justice, not after the way he'd made her feel. She let her sentence trail off, her eyes lifted to meet his and she smiled at the smug, almost proud look he had on his face.

A sudden thought came to her as she wondered if perhaps she'd been too loud. Would Rosalie and Alice have heard? She realized that her bedroom was right next door to Edward's. "Did you know that my bedroom is on the other side of this wall?"

She tried to remember if she'd ever heard him talking but realized he lived alone and didn't even have a cat to keep him company, therefore she would not have heard him talking at all. Her eyes widened as she wondered if he had heard her!

"I touch myself sometimes, late at night… Have you ever heard?"

Edward's grip tightened at her words, his eyes practically smoldering in the darkness as he stared across at Bella's ever open, upturned face. One would think she would have realized by now how strongly her words affected him. Why, if wasn't for the fact that they'd just finished having one of the most intensive sex sessions he'd ever had, he would have flipped her over and ravished her all over again…

"No." He said finally, the desire evident in his voice as he appraised Bella with hungry eyes. "I don't think I have. Not that I can remember."

And a damn shame it was too. Although, he doubted he would have been able to restrain himself if he knew that only a thin wall separated him from a very wet, eager Bella.

"Although now that you mention it, I'll be sure to pay closer attention." Edward's gaze caressed her naked body. _His now_, he thought rather possessively. "And I'm hoping that when I do listen in next time…" his hands trailed over her hips to the smooth curve of her ass, cupping the warm flesh in the palm of his hands. He leant in to kiss her neck as he growled, "That it's me you'll be thinking of… And my name you'll be crying out."

Bella giggled softly, she knew full well what her words would do to Edward and loving every second of it. She snuggled deeper into his embrace, his hands continued to rub at her skin, warming her body. She loved this, just holding each other. She'd never had this before and her eyes closed wistfully as she imagined herself in his embrace every night.

"This is nice... " She murmured, almost sadly, knowing how pathetic she was to find such comfort here. "No one's ever held me like this before."

"What about all those scores of men you used to brag about taking to your bed before?" Edward asked her, his eyebrows rose as he leant back from kissing her shoulder.

"Don't tell me they've never touched you like this." Bella had always been frank about how experienced she was. Judging from what the other girls teased her about, she seemed to depend on it, in fact, to help write the articles she covered at work. As such, he found her statement a little hard to believe.

He couldn't imagine any men who could take Bella to bed and walk away _not_ madly infatuated with her.

"Sorry, sweetheart. But I don't think I believe you." He murmured as his lips brushed over the tip of her nose. In the moonlight, he could see the faint outline of freckles on the back of her shoulder that he'd never noticed before. How could he have missed that about her?

Edward frowned. He would kiss every one of them and commit them to memory, he decided.

Bella managed a smile, although it didn't quite reach her eyes, though she doubted Edward would see the sadness there, the room was dark save for a curtain partly open, the only light spilling through coming from a near full moon and the street lights. "Wow, Edward. Way to make me feel good about myself." Of course she was jesting, but she still felt regret over the amount of men she'd slipped between the sheets with. But even though it was clear she was joking, Edward still opened his mouth to backtrack. "I'm kidding with you, it's fine." She ran a hand down his arm, reassuringly.

She sighed and leaned back so that her head was on the pillow, she stared up at the ceiling. "Truthfully, I never stuck around for cuddling afterward... I've never wanted to... Until now. I..." She broke off suddenly. She'd never given herself so completely to anyone. She'd given her body, but she'd never given her heart. Bella began to wonder if this was what it felt like to fall for someone.

"Besides, the men I've been with aren't the kind of men you cuddle with afterward." Bella knew what she was saying made her seem cheap and slutty. She pulled away from Edward, suddenly disgusted with herself.

Edward frowned. He knew what Bella was saying, could understand it at least. It didn't make him happy to think about the other guys she had been with before him, and especially more so to think that they might have been people she would have taken home with her from work. But more than any of that, Edward didn't like how Bella tried to pull herself away from him now.

"Hey, now. Don't do that." He admonished her. His hand reached out to curl around her wrist, tightening and drawing her back to him again.

"Maybe not," he agreed, referring to the men she'd mentioned. "But I hope you're not thinking of grouping _me_ with the rest of them."

Edward's face had sobered as his other hand reached up to stroke the hair back from her face.

"No… you're different." Bella smiled at him reassuringly. He was far different to any man she'd been with before. He was in a different league entirely to Riley. And this was why she felt so unsure of herself around him. No man had ever made her feel this confused about how she felt. She'd always managed to keep her thoughts clear; she always knew that emotion would never cloud her actions. Sex was sex. And that was that. No strings attached. No dinner dates, no flowers, no cuddling. It had always been about scratching an itch she couldn't reach herself.

And now Edward was giving her something different. Because _he_ was different.

Their eyes connected and they both felt something palpable, a tension that neither had felt before in her life.

Edward broke the silence. "Bella… I need to tell you something".

Bella's eyebrows rose and she adjusted herself to give space between them. He looked serious, something had changed in his demeanor and she felt suddenly nervous, although she couldn't know why.

"What?"

"In the hospital… You might not remember this… You were pretty drugged up on morphine, you see." He gazed at her face. "You were talking to Rose and Alice and you were talking about me. You said that I was your hero… That I saved you. Saved you from falling off the balcony, saved you from the wreck of the car… And that I saved you from Riley."

Bella's breath hitched in her throat as she realized what he was saying.

She'd denied that Riley had anything to do with this when he had asked her. But she'd said it to protect him.

"You need to tell me the truth. I looked into him Bella… My family has a personal investigator and he's got a very shady background. No formal criminal history but he's had a lot of run ins with the police. They watch him closely… If you had enough evidence you could take it to them, they might be able to bring you down."

Bella shook her head. "Edward… No, I can't. There's more to it than just Riley. There are others… I don't know for sure, but I get this feeling that he's working for someone much bigger up. And he has contacts. People that know about me." If she gave Riley to the police, then they would find her. They would find Edward, Rose, Alice… Everyone she cared about. She couldn't risk it.

"Edward. Promise me you won't do anything. Please."

Edward was silent for a long time; he looked into her beseeching eyes.

"Okay. I promise."

"But you have to be completely honest with me. Please. Let me help you."

She nodded and Edward pulled her tightly. They lay like that for quite some time and Edward thought that Bella must have fallen asleep but eventually she asked, "What is your family like? You hardly ever talk about them."

If Edward was surprised by her sudden, seemingly out-of-nowhere question, he didn't show it. "There's not much to talk about." He said instead. But then he hesitated. Perhaps if he made an attempt at sharing some of his own history with Bella, she would be more willing to do the same for him as well.

"Well… I grew up not too far from here in Seacliff. I was an only child. Nice house, lots of space to run around… no pets though. Mom was allergic." Edward started slowly, tracing light patterns on Bella's skin. "My father worked a lot, so I didn't see much of him. He's one of the managing directors for the Wells Fargo bank… had to travel around a lot, home late." He shrugged.

"We weren't close. So it was mostly just me and my mom. She was amazing." The corners of his mouth lifted in a smile as he reflected, "You would have liked her. Everyone did. She had this laugh, and this smile… and her eyes… when she was happy; it showed on every bit of her. She had this way of walking into a room and just making it all light up, you know?"

"Life was good. It was all good." Edward paused rather wistfully and then shook his head. "But then my father decided that I needed a little more discipline… some structure to help tap into my potential. I was already a good student at a good school, but he wanted more. He wanted the best, always the best for _his son_." He said a little bitterly.

"So he sent me to boarding school. It was far enough away that I couldn't come home very often, except for the breaks. My mum got sick a year after that." He grew quiet, his eyes dropping down to their linked hands.

"Are you cold?" Edward murmured. He didn't wait for her answer as he reached down to pull the thin comforter over the two of them, taking care to smoothen it over Bella's bare shoulders.

Bella's eyes grew sadder as Edward continued on, going into some detail about how things were for him as a child. How he'd been sent away, she knew what it was like to have an absent father. While her own father had been present when he was alive, she'd lost him at an early age and she'd missed him. The same could be said for her mother, and Edward had lost her too. She knew that much from flashes of conversation here and there.

"I'm sorry..." she murmured. She wanted to ask if he'd been able to say goodbye to her before his mother had passed but she stopped herself from asking.

She'd cooled down from their strenuous activities from before, but she wasn't feeling cold now. Still, Edward pulled the comforter so that it was covering both of them. "Thanks..." she said quietly.

"Do you still see much of your family?" she asked him after a short pause.

Edward rested his head back against the pillow, one arm curling loosely around Bella's waist as he listened to her question. "Not really. My father remarried before I finished college. And after all the money he spent putting me through college, only to have me decide to dedicate my life to being a firefighter…" he trailed off and shook his head. "He wasn't too… pleased."

That was one way of putting it at least.

"Angela's nice though…" he paused. "But having me around has always rocked the family boat, so to speak, so I try to stay away. She's got two sons of her own, and a daughter. My stepsiblings. The eldest, Marcus, he works with my father. A few years older than us… pompous little git." Edward's lip curled in an obvious dislike.

"There's Alec. He's working in Brussels at the moment and doesn't visit very often. And there's Lizzie." His eyes softened. If there was any person in his family that Edward was fond of, it was his stepsister Elizabeth. She was sweet, a little naïve like her mother, but good. He told this now to Bella and added, "She's in her second year of college. I see her for lunch sometimes and she comes over every now and then. I think you've bumped into her once when she was leaving here…" he paused, frowning in thought. "Or maybe that was Rosalie?"

"But no. Apart from Janie, I don't see them really except for special occasions like Christmas. We prefer it that way, I think. It's better. We're all happier that way." Edward frowned again. "I'm far closer with Emmett and his family. They're as good as family to me now."

"Rosalie and her family are the same for me," Bella said quietly.

"Yeah? That's good."

He took a deep breath and forced himself to dispel the clouds that came along with reflecting back on these thoughts. He tried to smile at Bella, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead. "Like I said. There isn't that much to tell," he said gently. He watched her for a moment, wondering what thoughts were going through her head right now. What did she think of him? But somehow Edward had a feeling that she wouldn't say, even if he asked.

"What about you?" he asked. "Are you… are you close with your foster parents still? You don't have siblings right?"

She admired him, it was clear to her that even though he also had a fucked up family life, that at least he wasn't fucked up himself. Not like she was.

Bella's body visibly tensed at the mention of her foster parents and she frowned. "No… I don't talk to them anymore. I haven't since I left home. And I was an only child…" She said nothing more than that. She'd runaway before she'd turned seventeen and nobody had bothered to try and find her. The police weren't called, no search party was made; it had been so easy to escape.

It was easy to escape when you weren't missed in the first place.

Silence stretched out between them before Edward finally asked, "Why did you leave home?"

A lie came to her lips; it would be easy to lie and say that she'd gotten sick of living in a family she didn't belong to. That life on the streets seemed more appealing to her that she wanted to be her own person, to rebel. She could say a number of things that were semi-truths but not tell him the real reason she'd left. No one knew the real reason.

But in that instant she found that she wanted to tell him. She'd kept things to herself for so long. And hadn't Edward just revealed a part of his past to her? He'd opened up to her, had told her things about himself that he usually kept to himself…

Another long silence stretched out between them but Edward remained patient, waiting for her to answer.

Bella swallowed, her eyes fixed on his chest, and she wouldn't look at him. But his hands rubbed her naked skin soothingly and it was that gesture that helped her open up to him.

"I wasn't the only kid my foster parents took in. There were two younger girls, me and another boy who was around my age. My foster parents liked the benefits the government gave for taking in children of the state. So they took in as many as they could manage… We were supposed to see each other as brothers and sisters but I never saw them as that. I tried to keep to myself as much as possible." Bella took a deep breath. Having started talking about her past, the memories had flickered back to her.

"One night, our 'parents' had gone out for the evening, the girls had gone to some sleep over and I was watching television in the living room by myself… My… brother…" Bella broke off; Edward's hands had tightened infinitesimally on her waist as if knowing where this was leading.

"He came into the room and sat down on the couch…" Unable to continue with the lead up of the story, she shook her head and tried to turn away from Edward, but he wouldn't let her go.

"He tried to rape me."

There was a sharp intake of breath at Bella's words and she tried to pull herself away, probably knowing the effect that this would have on him, but he didn't let her. If anything, Edward's grip tightened as he held on.

"Tried?" He managed finally, having found his voice. "He didn't rape you… right? You fought back?"

He hoped to God that she had. Or that by some divine intervention, her foster parents had returned. Something, _anything_.

Bella sighed and nodded. Her foster brother had come on to her, had told her that she was gorgeous, and that he hadn't been able to keep himself from thinking about her… She supposed that he was trying to flatter her, but all he'd done was gross her out. Weren't they supposed to be 'brother and sister'?

He'd managed to get on top of her, had pinned her to the cushions of the couch, he'd used his weight to his advantage. She'd struggled, had screamed and fought him by trying to kick him off.

Terror had gripped her when he'd ripped her pajama buttons off and had torn the shirt from her, exposing her. At that point she'd managed to get a hand free enough to punch him in the groin.

"Yeah... I managed to fight him off."

"And you ran away after that?" Edward said finally.

She nodded. "I locked myself in my room. Waited until I heard my foster parents get back. And in the middle of the night, I left."

He wrapped his arms around Bella and pressed his lips to her forehead. Hearing her tell this to him… it sent a shiver down his back, knowing about this piece of her past. He hoped that she had had hurt him, this boy who was supposed to be her brother, living with them in the place she had made her home, who had tried to force himself onto Bella like that. More than ten years had probably passed since that boy had touch her, but Edward swore that if he were to come across him tomorrow, he would still give him the thrashing of his life.

"I don't like it." He said quietly, "Knowing how these people have hurt you." His hands stroked back the hair from her face in a soothing gesture, as he looked down at her, his eyes soft and serious.

Bella shrugged. "It's in the past. You learn to move on from those sorts of things." Life was better now than it had been before; well it had been, up until Riley had entered her life again. But that would soon all be over.

She closed her eyes not wanting to continue talking about her sordid past any longer. She wondered if she'd be able to sleep in Edward's arms like this, it felt so intimate to be here, more intimate than sex. At least with sex, she could pretend that it was nothing more than a release for both of them. With this, it was much more. She'd let her guard down around him. She'd never done that with anyone before, not even her best friend, Rosalie. And Rosalie knew more about her than anyone else did. Now it could be argued that it was Edward who knew more.

When had her life changed so much that she found herself coming to this man instead? "Why do you care so much, Edward?" she murmured, her voice was slurred from drowsiness.

It was getting late and she had had a long day. But as tired as Edward himself was, he couldn't quite shake his mind off of the things that Bella had confided in him tonight. It wasn't quite true what she had said, he realized. About the bad things being in the past. Because they weren't.

Not for Bella.

The bad things had followed her even to here and now. All the shit she had to deal with her foster family was one thing, but what she was being forced to do with Riley was something else entirely. And for as long as she owed him that debt, she wouldn't be able to sever those ties with her past. She wouldn't ever be free. It was a long while before he could come up with an answer for her question.

"Because you deserve more, Bella." He said at last, his hand brushing against her cheek. "You deserve more than this. You deserve a good life, a happy one. And I-" his eyes softened as he realized, "I want to be the one to give you that."

And the more he thought about it, the more he knew it to be true. Edward saved people every day. When lives were at stake, when people were hurt. But what about Bella? He remembered the people who had hurt her; those nights he'd heard her crying from the other side of the wall… He couldn't take her past away from her. But he could make sure that she would never have to feel that way again.

"Bella?" Edward said quietly when the moment had past and she had still yet to respond. It was then he glanced down to see that she had in fact, fallen asleep and had probably never even heard his answer to her question. He shook his head and leaned down to kiss her cheek before tucking the covers around them. "Good night, Bella."

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**Please see my authors note at the beginning, it might have been a bit TLDR, but it gives you an indication on where I am with updating this story. Thanks.**

**Tell me what you thought of Bella's back story!**


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